Blood Fades To Black
by KisaTheStrange
Summary: "For what purpose was I born into this world?" With his memories all over the place, Shadow finds himself back in Westopolis trying to leave his past behind and reconnect with old friends, one in particular being Rouge. When his past comes back to haunt him and a new threat arises, will Shadow put his emotions aside? Or will he succumb to the darkness within him? Shadouge. Explicit
1. Chapter 1: Return

**Chapter 1**

* * *

 _Someone on earth had a thought..._

* * *

 **Downtown Westopolis, 11:00pm**

7 years... 7 years since they had defeated the Metarix. 7 years since Shadow decided he was going to disappear off the face of the planet, without a trace, leaving everyone to wonder whether or not he was even still alive. Up until today that is, when after 7 long years Shadow stepped foot on the streets of Westopolis once more, it hadn't changed drastically since he'd last been here. In a strange way it felt like he hadn't even left. It was as dreary looking as ever, today in particular what with it raining cats and dogs. He trudged down the muddy path until he reached a bar, the name 'The Whiskey' plastered above the entrance. Shadow decided to head on inside, wanting to get out of the rain and to sit down to a drink or two to clear his head before he figured out what he was going to do next. It wasn't like he had anywhere in particular to go to. So much had happened 7 years ago, he couldn't stick around with everyone else and continue living on as normal, he needed to get away from it all. Once his memories started coming back it was almost unbearable to be around anyone, he needed all that time to himself.

 _But here I am again._

Shadow ordered himself a scotch with ice, he took a sip, savouring the taste and enjoying the feeling of the warmth in his chest. He glanced over at the far side of the room, a small band was playing on the stage from what he could see. A fox girl singing and playing guitar, and a male hedgehog on the drums. They sounded pretty good, but Shadow didn't pay too much attention, he was too busy enjoying his drink and figuring out what he needed to do next. He couldn't stay in this bar forever.

Shadow scanned the room once again, this time the bar in particular was of interest to him as he caught glimpse of a familiar white Bat girl serving drinks to some eager looking rogue rats, she laughed and flirted away - humouring them a bit. Batting her eyelashes seductively as she leaned over the counter, just to tease them some more. Yes, that was Rouge all right, Shadow was a bit surprised to see how much she'd changed over the years.

He watched as Rouge whispered something to what he assumed was a colleague of hers, before she stepped around the bar with a drink and stood over against the wall just to watch the band play the last bit of their set.

Shadow decided to have a look over at the band as well, wanting to distract himself from his thoughts for a moment at least, upon actually paying attention to the two on stage did it hit him that the girl looked very familiar. The fox girl singing was Tails' older sister, Belina, she'd grown her hair out. The hedgehog on the drums he wasn't too sure about, he felt like he'd seen him somewhere before. Needless to say, they were both quite good up there. Shadow sat back and enjoyed his drink, listening to the song until the set was over.

"Thanks for coming out to listen to us, have a great night!" Belina announced into the mic, a few claps and cheers were heard before she picked up her guitar and made her way off the stage with the hedgheog right behind her.

Shadow spotted them heading over to a table in the far corner, where a few more familiar faces were seen sitting there.

"You guys rocked up there!" said Sonic, slurring a little as he knocked back the last of his whiskey.

"One more song! One more song!" Knuckles drunkenly demanded, slamming his fists on the table.

"Take it easy there Knux, we'll play again some other night," said Belina, chuckling.

Sonic looked up at the hedgehog next to her. "Manic, my bro, you fucking killed it!"

"I aim to please, bro," said Manic, grinning. He took a seat next to Sonic.

"And so you did," said Rouge, appearing at their table.

"Rouuuuuuuuuuuge!" Sonic announced, drunkenly.

"Hey Rouge!" said Belina.

"You guys did great up there, suppose now you're all ready for a drink," said Rouge, smirking.

"You can say that again! Tell Sandy to get us a couple of beers on the house," said Manic, winking.

"In your dreams, sunshine!" Rouge laughed, but headed over to the bar anyway to get their drinks.

Once Rouge had given them their drinks she decided to join them in their little celebratory drinking session, though Sonic and Knuckles looked like they had more than enough. Shadow couldn't help but look over at them, part of him wanting to go over and show that he had come back, that he was still alive. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, and instead ordered another scotch so he could further distract himself from his thoughts. He hadn't a clue what he was going to do next.

He looked up once again to see Manic and Rouge walking in his direction, they were heading towards the smoking area out back, Manic was whispering something in Rouge's ear and she giggled in response; up until she looked directly over at Shadow and stopped. Rouge's eyes widened, as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Yo Rouge, you ok?" said Manic, tapping her shoulder.

"L-let's just go out back," said Rouge hurriedly, and pulled Manic with her towards the smoking room.

Shadow was confused. Rouge had definitely seen him, yet why did she run off? He wasn't so sure what would happen now, but he decided to focus on the drink in front of him, maybe she didn't want to see him right now. Not that he could blame her, Rouge was his closest friend and to disappear out of nowhere with no means of contacting him must have been hard for her.

He could only imagine.

* * *

Rouge got up off her knees, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"You seem a little distracted, what even happened back there at the bar?" said Manic, zipping up his jeans.

"I...I saw Shadow in there," said Rouge.

"Shadow? Don't think I've met him, but I think I've heard Sonic mention him before," said Manic, lighting a cigarette.

"I hadn't seen him in 7 years...after we defeated the Metarix he just vanished...we thought he was dead after all this time and here he is. I really hope I'm not just hallucinating or anything," said Rouge, rubbing her temples.

"That's...really messed up. You should go back in and talk to him, y'know, before he leaves."

"I'm going to, I just...fuck. This is crazy."

"Sounds pretty crazy," said Manic, blowing a puff of smoke.

Rouge sighed. "I'm going back inside, I'll see you later, Manic."

Rouge opened the door and headed back inside the bar, she looked over and seen that Shadow was still sitting at the table, finishing up his scotch. She frowned, clenching her fists, and marched up to him. Shadow's ears perked up and he looked up from his drink to find Rouge standing in front of him, her teal eyes bore into his red ones.

Before Shadow could open his mouth, Rouge spoke. "Come with me, I need to talk to you somewhere private."

"...All right," said Shadow, getting up from the table.

He followed Rouge to a secluded area in a back room away from the bar, he guessed it was a staff only area judging by how quiet the place was. There was a moment of silence, Rouge had her back turned to him.

"So what did you-" before Shadow could finish, Rouge had suddenly sprung around and slapped him hard across the face.

Shadow held his cheek, as a natural reflex he wanted to hit her back, but he knew that wouldn't be an appropriate response so he held his temper and just waited for Rouge to speak. Her eyes were shining, he could tell she was trying hard to hold back her tears.

"After 7 years, you just show up out of the blue. Where the fuck were you all this time? Do you have ANY idea how worried we all were? Hell, we thought you were dead!" Rouge spat, her hands shaking with anger.

"I'm sorry, I know that's not gonna make anything better. But just understand I needed to get away from it all, with Cosmo dying, Molly's death, The Metarix, my memories being all over the place - I couldn't take it anymore. It felt like I was reliving my past all over again, I needed to just be alone. I could have let you guys know but I just wasn't thinking straight, I just couldn't be around anyone..." said Shadow.

"I get it Shadow, it's been hard for you, I know - but don't push your friends away like this, we just wanna help you. _I_ wanna help you. I know you've never been exactly close to anyone besides one person, but I want you to trust us. Just let us in, Shadow!"

"You know that's difficult for me, but I'm sorry Rouge. I just, I don't really know what I'm doing anymore."

Rouge crossed her arms, still frowning at Shadow, but soon enough felt herself calming down.

She sighed. "You've 7 years of catching up to do, might as well start now I guess. So what's the plan then now that you're back? Do you even have anywhere to live?"

Shadow shrugged. "I don't, but I'll find somewhere."

Rouge sighed once again. "I'm not having you wander about like a homeless hog, you're staying with me for now."

"Um, what?"

"Don't bother trying to argue, you're staying wth me and that's it, I'm not letting you run off again," said Rouge, poking him in the chest.

"Rouge, I appreciate you wanting to help but that seems a little much considering I'd completely vanished and not spoken to you guys the past 7 years."

"Well I said I wanted to help you, didn't I? And don't think I'm not still mad about that, honey, but you're gonna make it up to me," said Rouge, mischievously.

Shadow raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "You haven't changed a bit."

"I know, I think it's about time we join the others - they'll be wondering where I am and they deserve to know you're back too," said Rouge.

They headed out of the room to the bar where Sonic and the others were all still sat at the table, Sonic and Knuckles completely drunk out of their minds at this point, with Belina and Manic slowly catching up as they laughed a little too loudly at a bad joke Sonic was telling. Rouge sauntered up to them.

"Hey guys, guess who's back?" said Rouge, grabbing hold of Shadow's arm and pulling him close.

The table went silent as they looked up at Shadow, before Sonic and Knuckles started yelling.

"SHADOW OH MY GOD YOU'RE BACK YOU SONUVABITCH, IS' A GOD DAMN MIRACLE!" Sonic slurred, slamming his drink on the table and getting up off his chair to drunkenly throw his arm around Shadow, bringing him into an uncomfortable side hug.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD JUS' SHOWIN' UP OUTTA NOWHERE, I OUGHTA PUNCH THE SHIT OUTTA YOU FER THAT!" Knuckles shouted, knocking back the rest of his drink and trying to stop himself sliding sideways off the chair as he drunkenly glared at Shadow.

"Oh my god, Shadow! You're alive!" Belina exclaimed, jumping up off her seat and also throwing her arms around Shadow, giving him a hug. She soon enough let go of him. "Oh shit, sorry, I forgot you don't like people touching you."

Shadow looked incredibly uncomfortable, what with Sonic's arm still around him. "It's...fine."

"Ok boys, it's been great but I'm gonna have to cut this night short and head home, Shadow's gonna be staying with me so I'm sure you'll all see him again soon," said Rouge, gently pushing Sonic's arm off Shadow.

"Awwwww, buh Roouuuuuuuuuuuuge, I thought we were gonna partyyyyyyyyyy," Sonic whined.

"Next time sweetie, have a good night guys!" said Rouge.

"See ya later Rouge! Let's arrange something for the weekend! Was good seeing you again Shadow," said Belina, though by the look on her face she was still in disbelief about the entire thing.

"I'll text you!" Rouge waved back at the rest of them and headed out of the bar with Shadow right behind her.

She had a feeling it was gonna be a long night.

* * *

 **Author's Note:  
**

 **I maybe change the summary to this story as I'm posting this at 6am and my brain is no longer functioning.  
Enjoy! **


	2. Chapter 2: Dirty Work

**Author's Note:  
** **OK folks, I'm gonna warn y'all now this chapter is explicit (though I've already put in the summary that this story is but y'know whatever) - basically, if you don't wanna read or are disturbed by detailed sex scenes don't continue. If you're cool with that, enjoy!**

 **YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Turns out Rouge's apartment was just down the road from where she worked at The Whiskey, they stepped inside and Shadow was almost surprised at how modern and clean it was. Shadow wondered how she managed to afford a place so nice, and then remembered Rouge also stole Jewels for a living, so that probably helped her out a lot in this case. Rouge threw her handbag down on the couch.

"Make yourself at home, want a drink? I'm fixing myself one," said Rouge, she sauntered into the kitchen and began pulling out bottles and glasses from the cupboard.

"Sure," said Shadow, taking a seat on one of the sofa chairs.

"I've got whiskey, gin, vodka, scotch, brandy...pretty much a lot in here, what would you like?" said Rouge, looking through her collection.

"Whiskey would be nice, thanks Rouge."

Rouge soon enough returned with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a glass of gin and tonic in the other, she passed Shadow's drink to him and took a seat next to him, crossing her legs.

"You know, I didn't think I'd be sitting here having a drink with you again, I'm glad you came back," said Rouge, taking a sip of her drink. She paused. "I'm still angry you just disappeared like that, mostly because I thought you were dead all this time."

"I'm sorry I upset you like that - upset any of you like that - I just thought it was for the best at the time," said Shadow.

"I know, you have your reasons and I get that - I was just really worried is all, thinking you've lost your close friend is pretty tough," said Rouge, her glass clinking against her teeth.

"I get you're still trying to get your head around me just showing up like this, and that's fine. I just hope we can start patching up our friendship and make up for lost time now."

"Hm, yeah. It'll take some time that's for sure, but you'll be making up for it. For now, I wanna have fun spending time with you, let's drink," said Rouge, winking.

"I can get behind that," said Shadow, finishing his drink in one gulp.

An hour and copious amounts of alcohol consumption later, drunken laughter and bottles slamming on the table were heard throughout the apartment. Rouge was lolling back against the couch, giggling and knocking back more of her drink. She had resorted to just drinking gin straight from the bottle, having lost the ability to pour drink properly into her glass at this point. She'd given Shadow the bottle of whiskey as well, knowing that he too was beyond capable of pouring a glass himself.

"No, no, I'm tellin' ya, Sonic has a twin brother _and_ sister! It's so fucking weird," said Rouge.

"Oh Christ, I bet the'yre as annoying as he is," said Shadow, chugging more whiskey out of the bottle.

"Ehhh, they're pretty cool - I think I like them a little better than Sonic, you met Manic at the bar tonight."

"Oh yeah, the drummer dude you were fucking out back?"

Rouge nearly choked on her drink. "Sshhhhaadow, we were _not_ fucking!"

"Oh c'mon, you were out there for ages!" said Shadow, chuckling.

"No, I was - I was like - blowing him, y'know, stuff like that," said Rouge, spilling some gin out of the bottle as she waved her arms about.

"Classy," said Shadow.

"Oh shuddup, I have needs y'know," said Rouge, giving Shadow a little kick in the shin. "Say, since we're on the topic of sex - don't you have any juicy stories to tell me?"

Shadow shrugged. "Like, what?"

"When you like disappeared for years, I know you were like trying to have time for yourself and all that but you had to have been messing about with the ladies at some point," said Rouge, grinning.

Shadow laughed. "Well, I dunno, yeah. I don't know what you want me to tell you exactly."

"How many girls did you sleep with?" Rouge pressed on.

"I dunno, I can't remember."

"I'm intrigued! Is that a good or bad thing?"

Shadow shrugged once again. "I dunno, I never gave it much thought."

"That doesn't sound like much fun! You need to have a bit of fun in your life, Shads," said Rouge, gulping down the gin like it was water.

"Sex is your idea of fun?" said Shadow, chuckling.

"Well, it can be, with the right person!" said Rouge, winking.

"Who would even be the right person?" said Shadow, raising an eyebrow.

"Like, someone you know and get along with is a start..." said Rouge, smirking and knocking back some more gin.

Shadow narrowed his eyes at her. "Rouge, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to suggest I sleep with you."

Rouge shrugged in response, being deliberately vague to annoy Shadow. "If that's what you think, I suppose that could be fun. Maybe. Not so sure though."

"What, you think I won't be good enough?" said Shadow, cheekily.

"I wouldn't say _thaat_ now, but with my experience how do I know you'll even compare?" Rouge teased.

"Oh for fuck's sake." said Shadow, he followed up his response with grabbing Rouge by the front of her top and pulling her in for a rough kiss.

Rouge was a bit taken aback, even in her drunken state, by Shadow's sudden actions. Though she soon enough began kissing him back just as hungrily, tasting the whiskey on his lips. She felt his tongue licking her lower lip, begging for entrance, she opened her mouth and allowed him to dip his tongue inside, rubbing it against her own. His hands roamed her body, running them slowly along her thighs; she shivered against his touch. ' _Why am I doing this?'_ she thought to herself, she wasn't so sure, but she didn't want to stop.

Shadow's hands wandered up to her clothed breasts, his fingers brushed against her nipples through the material, Rouge could only bite her lip in response; arching her back ever so slightly. It felt so good, and he hadn't even properly started. Rouge gasped as she felt Shadow squeeze her breasts tightly, ' _damn he had a strong grip.'_

"They're so soft, but I bet they'd feel even better without this in the way," said Shadow, smirking.

He tugged off Rouge's top, revealing her impressively ample breasts. He smiled and trailed his tongue down Rouge's tanned chest, running over the dip in her collarbone and slowly moving lower. He heard her gasp as he ran his tongue over her hardening nipple, her breath getting caught in her throat at the sudden jolt through her body.

"Mmm..." Rouge moaned, arching her back further. Shadow qucikly picked up on the gestures and grinned deviously. He held onto her hips as he continued playing with her nipple while running his thumb over the other, drawing another loud moan from the young woman as he started biting it.

"Sh-Shadow -!" Rouge stuttered, far too wrapped up in the sensations running through her body.

Shadow suddenly stopped, causing Rouge to almost whimper at the sudden loss of contact, until she felt him tug at her shorts and yank them down, revealing a lacy black thong. Shadow leaned back and studied the under garment she was wearing, smirking. "How appropriate for you," he said, stroking the material with his thumb.

"What's that supposed to mean-"

Rouge's breath got caught in her throat once again as Shadow lowered his head and ran his tongue over her clothed entrance, sending a shiver rippling through her body. Without hesitation, he pulled off her thong in one swift moment, he saw her grip the edge of the couch in anticipation. Shadow leaned his head down and ran his tongue over the edge of her womanhood, satisfied when he heard a loud moan from her as a response. He decided to stop teasing her, and himself for that matter, and slipped his tongue inside her fully. She gripped the sheets tighter, arching her back sharply as she felt his hot breath inside her. He dragged his tongue over her clit, gently nipping it; He gripped her hips tightly, eating her out with such eagerness.

Shadow took his mouth away from Rouge's womanhood and began rubbing two fingers across her opening, crushing his lips against hers once again and using his free hand to slowly massage her right breast. He broke away from her lips and began sucking at her neck, whispering vulgar words to her, slipping his two fingers inside her. She groaned, biting her lower lip, trying to restrain herself from moaning.

"F-fuck - I-I'm close..." Rouge managed to stutter out, grabbing Shadow's attention.

He reverted back to eating her out once again, slipping his tongue in deeper. He clasped his mouth over her opening, moving his tongue around inside her, causing her to let out a loud moan. Arching her back with one final cry, she dug her fingers into the couch and came into his mouth, letting out a whimper as she was milked completely. Shadow sat up, swallowing, and smiled down at her.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself so far," Shadow smirked.

"You've no idea..." said Rouge, breathing hard.

"I'm pretty sure I do."

Shadow grabbed her wrists and pulled her up towards him so that she was now in an upright position, her head against his chest. She felt it fall with each breath.

"You've had your fun, now how about returning the favor?" He said, his face buried in her milk white hair.

Rouge smirked. "I thought you'd never ask."

She ran her hands down Shadow's crotch, feeling his erection pressing against her hand. She tugged the zipper down and yanked his trousers and boxers off, not wanting to wait a moment longer. Rouge was almost shocked at the size of him, she wasn't expecting him to be so big, or thick for that matter.

' _Damn, I 'm gonna have to really unhinge my jaw for this.'_

Rouge leaned her head down and cautiously licked the head of Shadow's dick before completely swallowing him, she could feel herself almost gag but managed to keep in control. After adjusting to his size she began bobbing her head, dragging her tongue along the underside of his cock before pushing back down and dragging her teeth, causing a moan to escape from his mouth.

"Mm, fuck, you're good," he groaned as she sucked him harder, he grabbed the back of her head and slowly started thrusting his hips forward, pushing himself deeper into her mouth. He felt himself near his peak, she swallowed him once again, moving her tongue around in the already crammed space of her mouth.

"Ah - shit!" he cried, coming down Rouge's throat.

Rouge clenched her eyes shut, not expecting the large load and tried swallowing as much as she could, some of it leaked out from the corner of her mouth and dribbled down her chin. She wiped it off with her finger and licked it appreciatively.

She giggled. "Damn, Shadow. I wasn't expecting so much."

"It's been a while, but enough of this foreplay. I want you. Now," said Shadow, giving her a toothy grin.

Rouge smirked and lay back down on the couch, spreading her legs a little. "I'm all yours, baby."

Shadow ran a hand up her thigh, hooking the knee in the crook of his elbow and spread her legs further. Without warning, he took her hips and pushed himself deeply into her, drawing out a loud cry from Rouge. She wasn't expecting the pain from how big he was, but she also loved how full it made her feel and soon enough she was losing herself into the pure bliss of it all, completely ignoring any pain there was. It was quite satisfying seeing her this way that it made Shadow thrust harder and faster.

"Dammit, you're so God damn tight Rouge, I don't care who you've slept with before they were clearly not fucking you right," he grunted, ramming his cock deeper.

"You. Shut. Your. Mouth," she said between gasps.

Shadow smirked at the anger in her voice, it only seemed to turn him on more. The tightness of her body felt amazing if anything, and the faces she made each time he thrusted deeply inside her was just enough to send him over the edge. The sight was just addicting. Hooking her legs over his shoulders, he sped up his thrusts and began playing with her breasts to meet every thrust.

"Nng – Sh-Shadow – Shadow -!" she panted out, almost reaching her climax. Shadow could feel himself almost reaching it too, he began thrusting as hard as he could, hitting that perfect spot deep in her body.

Shadow arched his back, feeling it so close. Rouge threw her head back and cried out his name, releasing herself all over him.

"Fuck!" Shadow yelled, thrusting one last time before exploding inside Rouge's body.

He collapsed in a heap next to her, breathing heavily, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. Rouge was trying as hard to regain her lost breath as well, her chest rising with each gulp of air.

"That was..." Rouge breathed out.

"Intense." Shadow answered, still breathing heavily.

"I was gonna say amazing, but sure that works too," said Rouge, chuckling. She clutched her head all of a sudden. "But boy, I feel so whoozy right now. That alcohol is hitting me hard."

"I have no intentions of moving from this spot," said Shadow, closing his eyes.

"Neither do I," said Rouge, burying her face in his neck and placing one arm across his chest.

The two eventually dozed off, completely drained of the energy they used up not too long ago, and the copious amounts of alcohol. Rouge wasn't looking forward to the hangover she'd get in the morning.

* * *

The sun shining through the windows disturbed Rouge's slumber, she groaned, slowing opening her eyes and squinting at the now bright room around her. A sudden pain shot through her head, causing her to groan once more.

"Christ, remind me to never drink too much again..." Rouge mumbled to herself, she looked over to her side to find the ebony hedgehog himself still sound asleep, and still completely naked. She raised an eyebrow and looked down at herself, finding that she too was without a stitch of clothing.

"Huh, well that's interesting," said Rouge, trying to recall when exactly they started doing the deed last night. _'Great, your best friend shows up after 7 years and you end up fucking him. Can't say I was expecting that.'_

Her thoughts were interrupted when Shadow groaned, waking up from his sleep, he opened his eyes and held his hand against his forehead.

"Shit...my head," he said, slowly sitting up.

"Mornin' sunshine," said Rouge, smirking.

Shadow turned to face her and paused, there was a moment of silence before he spoke up. "Um, why are you naked?"

"I could say the same thing about you," said Rouge, nodding at his naked form.

Shadow looked down, and frowned. "Touché." He ran his fingers through his quills, sighing. "So, was it your plan to get me drunk and then entice me into sleeping with you?"

"Well, I mean, I wasn't exactly planning it. Things happen," Rouge shrugged.

"You're acting so nonchalant about this."

"It's no big deal though, I mean it's kinda amusing," said Rouge, chuckling. "When I said you could make it up to me, Shadow, I didn't mean it like this. You naughty boy." she added, teasingly.

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Somehow, I feel like you partially meant it."

"Oh don't get all huffy with me now, it's only sex. I'd say it was enjoyable but I can't really remember," said Rouge, giggling. She shot Shadow a suggestive look, and suddenly pushed him back down onto the couch, climbing on top of him.

"Still, we can always go for round two and trigger our memories a little..." said Rouge, rubbing his chest. Part of her was only teasing, she was expecting Shadow to just get mad at her again and push her off. She didn't, however, expect him to suddenly flip her over so that she was face down on the couch with Shadow behind her, twisting her arm behind her back. Rouge yelped in surprise.

"Don't think because I'm sober you can still be in control, that's not how things work with me," said Shadow, his voice low and rough in her ear.

"Ah-!" Rouge groaned. Shadow slipped his hand between her legs and rubbed two fingers against her opening, causing Rouge to gasp.

"This wet already? Guess you really do wanna go for another round," Shadow teased, bringing his fingers up to his lips and licking the juices off them.

Rouge blushed a little, but tried to remain in control. "Honey, I'm always up for another round. I would, however, appreciate not having my arm twisted so if you could be a darling and- wah!"

Rouge was cut off by Shadow suddenly yanking her up and slamming her against the wall, his body pressed up against hers. Her back stung from the impact, but at least her arm wasn't hurting anymore, she looked up at the ebony hedgehog and could see how hungrily he was staring back at her. She'd never seen Shadow like this before, though of course she'd never been in this kind of situation with him to experience this sort of behaviour. Drunk Shadow just didn't have the awareness. Rouge's heart was thumping, it was terrifying, yet exciting; she was always the dominant one when it came to sex so she wasn't so used to having the roles reversed. Especially not with Shadow, who had always seemed so immune to her charms. Perhaps he'd discovered a great liking for sex during his absence, she wasn't so sure, but she wasn't exactly complaining.

Rouge smirked. "I see you're just as eager to get this started then.."

"Quite. Though I must warn you, I won't hold back," said Shadow, lifting Rouge's legs up and positioning himself at her entrance.

"Go for it," said Rouge.

' _Oh. Jesus. Christ'_

* * *

Rouge sauntered out of the shower and into the bedroom, clutching a towel over her body. Shadow was stood over at the window, staring out at the city before him.

"Whew, I definitely needed that shower after last night's and today's antics," said Rouge, running her fingers through her damp hair. She looked over at Shadow. "Are you moping over by the window now?"

"No, I'm just thinking," said Shadow, frowning.

"Well, try not to think too much," said Rouge, she winced as she sat down. "Ouch, god dammit. You weren't kidding when you said you weren't gonna hold back."

Shadow chuckled. "I know." He looked back at her. "You ok though?"

Rouge flashed him a smile. "Of course! My, Shadow. I never knew you had it in you, I'd dare say that was the best sex I've ever had," said Rouge, pulling on some fresh clothes.

"Yeah, it was pretty enjoyable," said Shadow, looking back out the window.

Rouge paused. "It's weird though, you seemed so not up for it when you woke up, what made you change your mind?"

Shadow shrugged. "You said it was just sex, it doesn't really matter. I guess I just wanted it after all."

Shadow knew that wasn't true, yes he did want it - but for different reasons. Sex was the only thing that made some kind of sense in his non-sensical mind, it was easy, it helped keep his mind occupied. If he didn't want to think anymore, at least he could focus that energy on something else, and that happened to be rough and mindless sex. At least with Rouge it wasn't that awkward, she enjoyed it and she never made a big deal out of it, it made Shadow feel somewhat relaxed. It used to be one night stands with strangers before, and that was fine, but it grew tiresome. It was different with Rouge, almost refreshing.

"Hmmm, makes sense to me," said Rouge, giving a big stretch and leaning back on the bed. "Well, if you think that, how about we make it a casual thing?"

Shadow's ears perked up. "Casual?"

"Yeah, I mean, we both have needs. I think it'd be fun."

"I suppose it could be."

"You could see it as a way of making it up to me since you vanished for seven years too!" Rouge added, jokingly.

Shadow laughed. "I knew you had an ulterior motive when you asked me to stay and all."

"Oh shut up," said Rouge, chuckling. "So...any ideas on what you're gonna do now?"

"Yeah, actually. I'm gonna head back to G.U.N," said Shadow.

"Oh, really? You know Commander Towers is gonna flip his lid when you show up. Not that I'd blame him."

"I know, but I can't really just avoid him."

"Yeah. I guess getting your old job back is a good start," said Rouge.

"It's something, I don't have much else to do," said Shadow. "It's the only thing I know at this point, what with my mind being all over the place."

"I suppose. I still do jobs for G.U.N here and there, but it's been pretty quiet here after that whole mess with the Metarex. That's why I took up working at the bar."

Shadow chuckled a little. "I guess it being quiet isn't such a bad thing for a change."

"You're telling me."

Shadow glanced up at the clock, it read just after two in the afternoon. Towers would be back in his office right about now.

"I should probably get this over and done with, I'll let you know how it goes when I come back," said Shadow, stepping away from the window and heading over to the door.

"Sure. Oh, by the way - Belina sent me a text. She wants us all over at her place tonight for a little get together, if you're up for another interrogation that'd be swell!" said Rouge, grinning.

"Hmph. Whatever. Suppose it's better sooner rather than later," said Shadow.

Without another word, he left the room and made his way out of the apartment. The weather had eased up today, not that it really made the city look any better but it was definitely an improvement from yesterday. G.U.N HQ was located out of the city at Mount Freedom, if Shadow's memory served him correctly. It had been too long since he was last there, he wondered if anything had changed over the years, or better yet if they had upped their security. Either way, he would soon find out.

Soon enough the familiar large fenced gates came into view, and upon seeing the large building before him it felt like he hadn't left at all. Nothing on the outside looked very different to him, he walked up to the gates and pressed the buzzer next to them. He noticed a small camera above the panel, he watched it focus on him. He waited for a couple of minutes, nothing happened. He was about to press the buzzer again when suddenly the gates rumbled, and slowly creaked open before him; he couldn't help but feel a little on edge, but soon brushed the feeling away and continued on in through the gates. He reached the main entrance to the headquarters, the large metal door was sealed shut and he could spot another panel next to it, before he could even lay a finger on the buzzer he heard another rumble, and the door slowly raised up; allowing him entrance into the base.

That familiar feeling of uneasiness was back with a vengeance, and Shadow couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't seen any soldiers yet. It was quite unusual for them. As if his thoughts had been answered, he heard a loud noise from behind him.

"Hold it right there!" a voice shouted.

Soon enough he was surrounded by fully armed G.U.N soldiers, the sounds of guns cocking almost deafening. As confused as he was, he should have known something like this would happen, considering how quiet it was when he got here. Towers must have seen him on the security camera.

Well speak of the Devil himself, Shadow looked over to see Commander Towers pushing passed his soldiers and walking towards him, a scowl plastered upon his wrinkled face.

"Well if it isn't Shadow, back from the dead I see? You've got a lot of nerve showing up here after disappearing off the face of the planet for seven years," Commander Towers spat.

"Nice to see you too, Commander. I was hoping we'd be able to speak under..." Shadow glanced at the assault rifles pointing at him. "Less threatening circumstances."

Commander Towers grunted in response, but gestured to his soldiers to lower their weapons. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, Hedgehog. C'mon then."

Shadow followed him across the hallway towards the briefing room, once inside Shadow noticed that a few of Towers' soldiers were stood in the room as well. Shadow raised an eyebrow at him.

"Just a precaution," Towers answered coldly.

"You should know me better than that, I'm not here to cause trouble," said Shadow, taking a seat.

"I don't even know what you're like anymore, after you and your friends managed to defeat the Metarex you completely vanished, we thought you'd died," said Towers. He shook his head. "But here you are, seven years later."

"A lot happened after that battle, once my memories started coming back I needed to get away for a while to figure things out. Even now it's still all a blur. But I'm ready to put that all behind me."

Towers frowned. "So, why have you come here then? You know you've been completely stripped of your duties here since you decided to go AWOL."

"I know, but I want to work with G.U.N again, I need to set things right."

"Why should I take you back after that stunt? How do I know you won't up and vanish again? I care about humanity, Shadow. I need someone I can rely on when things go wrong!"

Shadow slammed his hands on the table. "Up until I left I've been nothing but loyal to this organization! You can't just brush that aside and forget about it, I did what I felt was right at the time and I want to make things right again! From stopping Eggman's plans to dominate this world, to the Metarex, I've worked damn hard to help protect this planet and you fucking know that!"

Towers raised his eyebrows a little at Shadow's outburst, he frowned, remaining silent. Shadow stared at him, waiting for him to respond. He wanted him to just understand and give him a chance to redeem himself.

There was a moment of silence before Towers sighed deeply, finally speaking up. "I can't deny that you've helped save this planet numerous times when it was under threat. While your sudden disappearance was unexpected and disappointing to say the least, I can see you truly want to set things right," said Towers, getting up from his seat. "Fine, then. I'll give you one last chance. But let me down again and I'll have no choice but to view you as my enemy."

Shadow nodded. "I won't let you down again. I promise."

Towers sighed yet again. "Very well then. Come back first thing tomorrow, we'll begin setting up your work space and updating your files. Don't be late."

"Of course. I'll see you then," said Shadow, getting up from his seat.

Towers grunted, but Shadow could see a small smile form upon his lips. He turned to one of the soldiers. "Rogers, see Shadow out the door will you?"

"Of course, sir."

Shadow headed out of the headquarters, feeling relieved that this meeting went better than expected. He felt like he was on the right track back to normality, or at least a distraction from his thoughts, it helped knowing that much at least.

 _Perhaps...perhaps, everything can just start making sense again._


	3. Chapter 3: Metamorphosis

**Chapter 3**

* * *

 **Space Colony Ark,** **6:00pm**

* * *

"50 years...it's been something like that hasn't it? Dr. Gerald did promise you greatness, however we've been keeping something else rather interesting up here. Something that could be of help to you."

A man with a large pointed nose, untidy lab coat and unkept moustache walked down the hallway, by his side was a sinister yet aged looking creature, it had three eyes and twin horns sticking out of either side of its' head; it was decorated with a worn robe, chains with spiked ornaments and jewels around the top of its' robe.

"The time of reckoning is upon us, you musn't waste my time bringing me up here, Dr. Snively,"the creature spoke, its' voice was very deep and presented an echoing effect.

"I assure you, Black Doom, if anything will convince Shadow to join your army, it will be this," said Snively, keying in a password to open the door before them, revealing a large and cold room.

"We've managed to keep her body well preserved thus far," Snively added, guiding Black Doom towards a large capsule in the middle of the room. Inside lay the mummifed body of a young girl, her face was rough and skeletal looking, yet her blonde hair still looked as full as the day she was alive.

"Dr. Gerald's granddaughter?" Black Doom questioned.

"That's correct. After the incident at Space Colony Ark, a team of G.U.N scientists managed to steal the bodies lost after the accident - wanting to keep them preserved and buried here as a reminder of what happened. One of them so happened to be the Gerald's grandaughter, Maria. No one had any idea the bodies were still here, up until Dr. Eggman and I discovered them, " Snively explained.

"If my theory is correct, combining your Black Arms' blood with her human form should help regenerate her cells, replacing the dead ones with new and stronger cells. She will no longer be fully human, but a weapon for you to use as you please, and also the perfect bait for Shadow to finally join you. I am certain this experiment will be a success!"

"If it proves to be a success, this would be most interesting. A human to help destroy all humans, what sweet irony," said Black Doom.

"Our plan to conquer this planet would be almost certain if this goes well. Shall we begin?" said Snively, smirking.

"Very well."

Snively pulled out a syringe, injecting the needle into Black Doom's arm and drawing the blood out from him. He punched in the password and opened up the capsule, positioning the needle near Maria's lifeless arm and piercing her veins. He pushed the syringe down and slowly released Black Doom's blood into her body. They waited, watching as her veins throbbed and pulsated with the Black Arms' blood, the process was quick as Snively had predicted.

"Her cells are regenerating at an incredible speed, her recovery is remarkable! The regeneration of both organs and tissue is simpy off the scale!" said Snively, excitedly. "Her being, both physical and mental, seem to be developing at a geometric rate."

Her appearance changed from that of a skeletal and worn away being, to fresh faced and alive in a matter of minutes, her skin no longer grey and rough, but white and smooth. Her lips red in color, her body filling out her former skeletal form, she no longer had the appearance or body of a twelve year old, the alien blood had aged her to sport a more mature physique. That of someone who was at least nineteen or twenty. Suddenly the young woman's eyes shot open and she gasped loudly for air, the contractions in her body slowly becoming less frequent.

Maria scanned her surroundings, a look of confusion plastered on her face as she shivered in the capsule. She looked frightened as she looked up at Snively and Black Doom, unaware of what was happening around her and who these people were. She slowly sat up, blinking rapidly, a sharp pain suddenly piercing her head and causing her to hold onto it.

"There, there, my child. There's no need to be afraid," said Snively, he shrugged off his lab coat and threw it over Maria's naked form. She clutched onto it, shivering violently.

"Wh...wh...wher..." she stuttered, trying to speak.

"Where are you? You're in Space Colony Ark, your home. Do you remember your name?" Snively asked.

"M...My... N-na-me..."

"Yes, child. Your name is Maria."

"Ma-ri-a..." Maria whispered, she tried to stand up but her feet gave way beneath her, causing her to fall to her knees.

"Careful child, you're still getting used to your new body. I'm Dr. Snively, I helped bring you back. Do you remember anything, Maria?"

Maria stared blankly at Snively, before shaking her head in response.

"You were killed in this very place 57 years ago, by those horrible humans. But I brought you back to life," Snively looked over at Black Doom. " _We_ helped bring you back to life."

Maria looked up at Black Doom, still shivering.

"My dear child, you have been wronged by those disgusting humans. They have taken everything away from you. I, as your creator, will make sure you are never harmed again," said Black Doom, his eyes shining brightly.

He placed a clawed hand on Maria's shoulder.

"Let us make the humans suffer."

* * *

Belina's apartment was on the other side of town, they walked up to the front door and Shadow couldn't help but notice, from the outside, that it didn't look as nice as Rouge's place. They could hear loud talking and music from the other side of the door.

"Sounds like they're having fun in there," said Rouge, knocking on the door.

"Coming!" Belina called from inside, she then opened the door and grinned when she saw the two. "Hey guys, glad you made it over! Excuse the mess, Manic was trying to find his drumsticks again."

"It's fine, I can imagine having Manic as a roommate is quite a handful," Rouge teased, winking at the green hedgehog himself.

"Hey, I'm not that much of a handful thank you very much," said Manic, sticking his tongue.

"The rest of them should be here soon, but in the meantime would you guys like anything to drink? Tea? Coffee? Something stronger? said Belina, gesturing for them to take a seat at the couch.

Rouge couldn't help but think back on last night's antics with the alcohol, but decided it shouldn't hurt to have another drink. "Something stronger is always a nice choice. What d'you have?"

"Vodka, rum, whiskey, wine, gin, beer, a few ciders...think that's about it?" said Belina, glancing at Manic.

"Sounds about right," said Manic, twirling his drumstick.

"Wine would be lovely, thank you," said Rouge, sitting down.

Belina turned to Shadow. "And yourself?"

"Gin, thank you Belina." Shadow also couldn't help but think back to the amount of alcohol he drank last night, and the fact that he had to be in work tomorrow morning, but surely one drink wouldn't hurt?

"Be a dear and get me a cider, Belina," said Manic, grinning.

Belina shot him a sour look. "I'm not your maid!" she spat, but proceeded to get Manic his cider as well.

She came back into the room and handed them all their drinks, and sat down on the couch with a drink herself. Rum and coke to be precise.

Manic took a sip from his cider and turned to Shadow. "So...you're this Shadow everyone's been talking about?"

"Yes," said Shadow, taking a drink of gin.

"Niiiice. They weren't lying y'know, you _do_ look exactly like my brother!"

"Oh I don't think they're exactly alike, Shadow's cuter," said Rouge, winking.

Shadow raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything.

"There are some differences, like. Sonic's blue, Shadow's black. Sonic smiles, Shadow doesn't," said Belina, drawing laughter from Manic and Rouge.

"Hey. Watch it," said Shadow, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Oh c'mon, it's true though!" said Belina.

"I mean, I smile sometimes," said Shadow, shrugging.

"Yeah, yeah."

There was a knock on the door, interrupting their conversation. Belina jumped up from the couch and went to answer it, she opened the door to find Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy and Sonia standing there.

"Hey guys! It's about time you got here, Shadow and Rouge are already here," said Belina, leading them into the living room.

It was Tails' and Amy's turn to look shocked, both at the mention of Shadow's name and seeing him sitting on the couch in front of them, they weren't sure what to say.

"Shadow?! You're back?!" said Amy, in disbelief.

"I can't believe it!" said Tails, his eyes wide.

Sonia looked at the two, utterly confused as to what was going on here. "Um, am I missing something?"

"Shadow's our old friend, he disappeared for 7 years and now he's back," Sonic explained quickly. "Well nice to see you decided to drop by anyway, Shadow!" he added, grinning. Sonic took a seat next to Shadow and threw his arm around him.

"We thought after last night you'd just run off again!" said Sonic, chuckling.

"I feel like I want to now," said Shadow, shrugging Sonic's arm off him.

"Oh let's not get grumpy now," said Belina. She looked over at Tails and Amy, they were still standing and staring at Shadow. "C'mon you guys, take a seat!"

They both snapped out of it and sat down next to Belina. Knuckles placed a plastic bag on the table and began pulling different bottles of alcohol out of it.

"We didn't wanna show up empty handed, so we brought some booze with us," said Knuckles, throwing Belina a bottle.

"Drinking again? After last night?" said Belina, laughing and catching the bottle.

"Yeah we did go a little nuts, but this is only a get together - a few drinks shouldn't hurt!" said Knuckles.

"I suppose - hey, let me get some glasses for you guys. Sonic, Amy, Sonia, what are you guys having?" Belina asked, getting up from the couch and heading towards the kitchen with Knuckles.

"Cider please, Bel," said Sonic.

"I guess I'll just have some wine, please," said Amy.

"Whiskey would be great, thanks Belina," said Sonia, taking a seat next to Manic.

Belina came back and handed them their drinks, she handed Tails a glass of orange juice and turned to Sonic. "Don't even think about giving Tails any of your booze," said warned, pointing a finger at him.

"Hey, I'm fifteen, quit treating me like a kid," said Tails, frowning at Belina.

"Fifteen is when the booze and drugs starts," said Belina.

"Maybe for you, but not me," said Tails, taking a sip from his glass.

After a while they all began to settle down, chatting about different things and laughing at some bad jokes. Stories from the past were then brought up, much to Shadow's dismay.

"So, when did you guys meet Shadow?" Sonia spoke up, glancing over at the ebony hedgehog.

"God, it's weird to think how long ago it was now, that was back when G.U.N mistook me for Shadow and tried to hunt me down," said Sonic. "Weird how time flies, eh buddy?"

"Hmph. Yeah, something like that," said Shadow, knocking back his gin.

"It's kinda crazy, after the Metarix it's been so quiet these past couple of years," said Sonic, he turned to Shadow. "Twice you've disappeared on us...we've missed you, man."

"Shadow...what happened after all these years? Where did you go?" Amy asked, gripping her glass.

Shadow felt his heart rise to his throat, all he could do was stare at his drink. "I..."

His heart was beating fast, he didn't want to remember, but he knew he had to tell the truth eventually. Shadow looked up at the nervous faces staring back at him, it made him feel awful. "It's a long story..." said Shadow.

Rouge raised her eyebrows at him, surprised by what he said. A long story? So there was more to him just needing time alone for seven years?

"It's ok Shadow, you can tell us," said Sonic.

Shadow sighed. "All right then... Yes, I ran away because my memories coming back was just too much for me to handle, I wanted to be alone for a while. I didn't actually plan to be gone for so long, maybe a a month at most. I ended up in this far off planet, it felt like our own world so I stuck around for a while, trying to make sense of everything.

Then I met this girl, Sarah. She explained that something terrible was gonna happen to her world, that paradoxes had erupted throughout time, warping the timeline. She was approached by an oracle and was shown a vision of her world getting destroyed by these black creatures and that this was the cause of it, the only way she was going to stop this from happening was to travel back through the different timelines and resolve the paradoxes through the power of chaos. Sarah couldn't control that power, but I could. At first I didn't believe her, the entire thing sounded so far fetched, but she was desperate for my help - and I was worried the disruption of the timeline would affect our world too, that these black creatures would target us next if we didn't stop them.

We went through each timeline in this galaxy, the past, present and future; and managed to resolve the paradoxes. We thought we had saved this world's future. That the galaxy was safe. We hadn't realize the damage we'd done, that by using the power of chaos we'd given the creatures a free pass into destroying her world, they absorbed that power and were able to become stronger; and it only resulted in the inevitable."

In his mind's eye he could see Sarah in front of him, smiling and laughing, happy that they had saved her planet.

" _Looks like we did it, thank you Shadow..."_

 _He could see a dark cloud circling above, the sounds of people screaming, Sarah's worried expression before she was struck by that black creature. The blade piercing through her chest._

" _SARAH!"_

 _Everything went white._

Shadow clutched his glass, his hand shaking. "They killed her. The oracle tricked her into altering the timeline, and it killed her. I couldn't do anything to save her. I thought everything was going to be ok. It felt like only a couple of months we were travelling through time, when in reality it had taken seven years off our lives, only to result in making that vision come true, and those black creatures are still out there somewhere."

The whole room was silent, taking in the story Shadow had told them, finding it difficult to comprehend. Shadow glanced over at Rouge, she had an anxious expression plastered upon her face, something Shadow wasn't so used to seeing.

Rouge cleared her throat. "Fuck...Shadow...that's some story," she said, taking a large gulp of her wine.

"I mean...it makes sense why you disappeared for so long," said Sonic, also taking a drink.

"Now you know. I'm sorry, I didn't want to dampen the mood with all this, but I did at the very least owe you guys the truth," said Shadow.

"Hey man, it's ok! I mean, it's a crazy story...but we're just glad you're back," said Sonic, giving Shadow a pat on the shoulder.

"And even if these black creatures do come to our world, you have us to help you out!" said Amy.

"Changing the past...that could have been really dangerous!" said Tails, suddenly in deep thought.

"Hey now, I think that's enough talking about the past for today, we might as well just kick back and enjoy living in the moment y'know?" said Belina, standing up from the couch.

"Belina's right, we should just celebrate having you back with us, Shadow!" said Rouge, also getting up. "And you guys look like you need refills, I'll go help you, Belina."

They both sauntered off into the kitchen, leaving the rest to carry on changing the topic onto something more light-hearted. Shadow almost wished he hadn't told them the story, not because of their reaction, but having to talk about it meant having to remember it all. It was only a month ago, yet it felt like it happened years ago, that familiar feeling of losing someone was almost unbearable. After the Metarix he didn't want that, after losing Molly, after what happened 57 years ago...

Shadow downed the rest of his drink, wanting to forget about it all. He wanted to put his past behind him; yet why with every effort to forget about it all, did something have to go wrong and trigger it once again? It was painfully infuriating.

Drink, after drink, the atmosphere slowly became more enjoyable, the alcohol soothing his mind slowly but surely. Everyone else seemed happier too, but that also could have been the alcohol going straight to their heads, Sonic joked around with Shadow, surprsingly enough Shadow played along, it was different to how they usually behaved around each other. Normally Shadow was calm and collected, not participating in Sonic's playful banter. Now here they were, cracking bad jokes and laughing just as hard at them.

"So Shadow, you're staying with Rouge right?" Sonic asked, smirking.

"Yep," said Shadow.

"So last night...did you guys, like, do anything nasty?" Sonic's grin widened.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Shadow.

"I mean, did you guys fuck or what?" said Sonic, taking a sip of his drink.

Ah. It was Shadow's turn to be vague now. "Wouldn't you like to know," said Shadow, also taking a drink.

"Oh c'mon, tell me!" said Sonic.

Shadow smirked. "We're adults, Sonic. That's all I'm saying."

"Well then you might wanna watch out for my brother, looks like he has his eyes on Rouge too," Sonic teased, nodding over at Manic.

Shadow looked over to see Manic joking around with Rouge, occasionally he'd place his arm on her shoulder and inch closer to her. She was laughing, batting her eyelashes at him and gently slapping him on the chest, causing him to slide his hand down a bit lower. Shadow couldn't help but feel weird about it, a surge of jealousy and anger rising up inside him, he didn't understand why he was feeling like this. Shadow downed the rest of his drink, trying his best to ignore it. He didn't own Rouge, she could do what she wanted, and who she wanted for that matter; why should it bother him?

"I need some fresh air," said Shadow.

He turned and made his way towards the back door, walking passed Manic and Rouge and purposefully not looking at them. He opened the door and stepped out into the cool night, the fresh air hitting his face and making him feel a little more relaxed, he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. Shadow never used to be one for smoking, but with recent events he had decided to take it up, enjoying the sensation it gave him. The combination of smoke and alcohol felt amazing if anything, Shadow raised the cigarette up to his lips and lit it, breathing in deeply.

Shadow was enjoying the small time he had to himself, up until Rouge appeared behind him.

"Didn't know you smoked," she spoke up, crossing her arms.

Shadow glanced back at her. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Rouge."

Rouge narrowed her eyes at him, she smirked and began walking towards him. "Well, maybe I want to know a lot more about you..."

Rouge slid her arm around his waist and brushed her hand against his crotch, causing Shadow's breath to get caught in his throat.

"R-Rouge," Shadow stuttered. He let out a small groan as Rouge rubbed two slender fingers across his growing bulge.

"Horny already? You're such a dirty boy," she purred.

"Rouge, stop that right now or I'm bending you over this wall and fucking you there and then, and I don't care who sees," Shadow hissed, gritting his teeth.

Rouge gave one last squeeze before snatching her hand away. "As fun as that sounds, I'd rather not scar Belina for life. Or have Tails walk in on us, that'd be totally embarrassing," said Rouge, chuckling.

She reached up and took the cigarette out of Shadow's hand, bringing it up to her lips and taking a long drag from it. She blew out a puff of smoke and stubbed out the cigarette.

"Try to not get into this bad habit," Rouge added, teasingly. She stepped away from Shadow and made her way back inside the house, leaving Shadow both sexually frustrated, and without a smoke.

He sighed, exasperated.

Shadow headed back inside, where a drunken Sonic greeted him. "Hey Shads, where you been buddy?" he asked, handing him a glass of gin.

"Well, I was outside and I wanted to enjoy a nice smoke. But all I got was my cigarette taken off me, and my dick grabbed," said Shadow, blankly.

Sonic blinked at him. "...Oh."

Shadow looked over to see Rouge flirting with Manic again, she glanced back and caught Shadow's gaze, giving him a wink before turning back to Manic. Shadow frowned and knocked back his gin in one gulp, Rouge knew just how to get on his nerves. He tried to distract himself by making conversation with Belina instead.

"So, you and Manic have a band?" said Shadow.

"Yeaaah, it's a little thing we started a couple of years ago, it's pretty fun!" said Belina, sipping some rum. "Doesn't really pay the bills, so I also work part time as a waitress in some fancy hotel. I hate it."

"I only heard you guys play for a bit last night, but you sound really good. You should keep it up," said Shadow, giving Belina a small smile.

"Thanks Shadow! I'm hoping it goes somewhere so I don't have to be stuck being a waitress," said Belina, pulling a face.

"I'm sure it will," said Shadow.

"What about yourself? Have you anything lined up at the moment now that you're back?" Belina asked.

"I got my old job in G.U.N back just today actually, took quite a bit of convincing but I managed to do it, which reminds me I probably shouldn't have started drinking again," said Shadow, staring down at his empty glass.

"Pfffft, you'll be fiiiine!"

Shadow kept the conversation going for a while, it felt good being able to reconnect with old friends and keep his mind occupied for a bit, that was until Rouge sauntered up to them.

"I hate to interrupt, but I think it's about time we head home, don't you think Shadow?" said Rouge, smirking.

Shadow glanced at the clock, it read 12:01am. "Oh right...yeah I think it's time we head back," he said.

"Awww damn, well it was fun while it lasted! We're gonna have to get you guys back for proper shenanigans when you're off work," said Belina.

"Sounds like a plan, doll! See you guys later!" said Rouge, waving at the rest of them.

"We gotta hang out more now that you're back, Shads!" said Sonic, giving Shadow a pat on the back.

"Of course, see you later. Thanks for having us Belina," said Shadow, giving them a small wave and heading out the door with Rouge.

The walk home was a quiet one, which was quite strange for Rouge as she was usually the one chattering away about anything and everything, for Shadow - he was normally like this. Rouge opened the door and threw her handbag down on the couch, she gave a long and audible stretch.

"Phew, that was pretty fun don't you think?" Rouge asked. She waited to hear the usual casual response from Shadow; 'it was fine', 'hmph', just to name a few.

Being slammed into the nearest wall by a sexually frustrated Shadow was...not the response she had been expecting. Rouge couldn't help but squeak in surprise. She had seen the looks he'd been shooting her after her little teasing session, the entire time they were at Belina's. In a way, she shouldn't really be surprised that this was his reaction in accordance to that.

Now that they were alone, Shadow had her right where he wanted her.

"Yeah it was fun-" Shadow panted in between wild kisses, saliva beading on his tongue, "but just what was that little stunt about back there, huh?"

"Just giving you- _ah_ \- something to look forward to," Rouge answered, back arching as one of his hands crept under her top to pinch a nipple.

"More like it provided hours and hours of torture in which I imagined various ways I could make you scream my name," Shadow said huskily against her mouth.

"Various ways huh? Well, show me what you had in mind," said Rouge, smirking.

"Of course - but I'd rather take this somewhere a little more appropriate," said Shadow, smiling back.

He picked up Rouge and barged into her large bedroom, he eagerly dropped her down on the bed and soon enough joined her, pinning her arms down as he planted wet kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Rouge gasped as she felt his teeth sink into her neck as he bit down, sucking it gently. Shadow yanked Rouge's clothes off as well as his own, not wanting to wait a moment longer, the need to make her his was just clawing at him he could barely stand it.

Gripping Rouge's hips, he suddenly rammed himself into her, drawing a loud gasp from the young woman below him. Shadow let out a small growl, feeling her walls tighten around him as he thrusted ryhtmically.

"A-Ah - Christ, yes-!" Rouge moaned loudly, gripping onto Shadow's strong shoulders.

Shadow grabbed hold of Rouge's wrists and pinned her arms above her head with one hand, while the other held onto her hips as he continued thrusting deeper and harder, he felt his mind begin to wander - thinking about the story he had told them today. Flashbacks of different memories lit up in his mind, Sarah's face, Molly, and...gunfire. A young girl's pleading voice ringing in his ears.

' _F-fuck...I can't think about this. Get out of my head!'_

Shadow moved his hand up around Rouge's neck, squeezing it tightly as he began pounding into her, he didn't know what was happening but he wanted it all to go away, it felt like he was losing control.

"Sh-Shadow...you're hurting me...!" Rouge choked, trying to pry Shadow's hand off of her neck.

Shadow paid no heed, instead he tightened his grip and continued thrusting into Rouge until he felt himself near his peak.

"Ah, hell!" he cried, emptying himself into Rouge.

He released his grip from her throat, breathing heavily. Rouge gasped for air, coughing loudly and rolling over onto her side. Shadow looked at her, suddenly coming back to his senses.

"Oh shit, Rouge...I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me," said Shadow, his heart beating fast.

"It...it's fine...damn, what happened to you back there?" said Rouge, slowly regaining her breath.

"I don't know, I just...didn't know how to control myself anymore," said Shadow, running his fingers through his quills.

Rouge hugged her knees to her chest. "Did something just, trigger you to get like that?"

"I was just...it's gonna sound awful, but I suddenly started thinking about Sarah, and then...God, I don't even want to think about it," said Shadow, gripping his forehead.

Rouge bit her lip, and gently placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder. "Hey, it's ok..." She paused. "Sarah must have meant a lot to you."

"It's not that, she was a good friend. But...its just what happened, it made me think about what happened on Space Coloney Ark," said Shadow. "Just that gruesome image in my head..."

"I know...well, we're all here for you Shadow. You don't need to go through this alone," said Rouge.

"Thanks, Rouge. I appreciate that, I'm just trying my hardest to put my past behind me...but I just can't shake this feeling that something bad is gonna happen," said Shadow, clenching his fist.

"Everything's gonna be ok Shadow, you're just still shaken up over what happened, don't beat yourself up so much. Just give it time," said Rouge, rubbing Shadow's back. "For now, you need sleep."

Shadow nodded. "I suppose you're right." He turned to Rouge. "Do you want me to take the couch?"

"Shadow, I think it's a bit too late to be getting bashful now. No, you're sleeping in the bed with me," said Rouge, smirking.

"If you say so."

Shadow crawled under the covers with Rouge and tried to get some sleep, even though he had to be up in five hours. Rouge closed her eyes, attempting to get some rest as well, though she couldn't help but think back on how Shadow behaved. In a way it frightened her, even though she knew he didn't mean it. _'Was this whole thing even a good idea at all? And what did he mean by something bad about to happen?'_

The very thought sent chills down her spine.


	4. Chapter 4: Directive

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"Don't let him get away!"

A tall, lanky man with shoulder length dark hair ran through the streets, clutching his wounded stomach. He thought he was going to get away with stealing this time, until the cops caught him red handed and fired once he tried to get away, resulting in this injury he was trying so desperately to ignore as he tried to flee. He turned a corner and collapsed to the ground, falling to his knees and breathing heavily. He groaned, the wound getting worse, he looked down at the blood flowing freely from his stomach.

"Shit...I can't keep going like this..." the thief mumbled to himself, he felt a sudden presence near him and looked up to see a blonde woman standing before him. Her blue eyes emotionless as she stared down at him, the man was confused. He was about to speak when suddenly he heard people shouting.

"He went down here!" one of the police officers called out.

Maria heard them, and began walking out towards them.

"Wait-!" the thief hissed, but Maria ignored him. She stepped out in front of the cops, causing them to stop running.

"You shouldn't be out here alone, miss, it's too dangerous," one of the officers spoke.

Maria remained silent, staring intently at them. Suddenly her back began pulsating, and several large bladed tentacles formed in sight. Before the cops could react, the tentacles flew into action and sliced their way across them, screams were heard as they were mutilated within seconds; blood spattering across the concrete ground. The thief sat there helpless, watching in horror as the bodies of those men lay scattered in pieces across the floor, Maria turned to him and began walking over. He shuffled back, trying to escape but the pain from the wound was too much, he was too weak. His whole body shook as Maria knelt in front of him, she then placed her hand over his open wound. His eyes widened, he felt something strange surge through his body, travelling through his veins. The pain from the wound was getting worse, and then all of a sudden it died down.

Maria pulled away from him and he looked down to find that his wound had completely vanished, he felt a little dazed, but oddly enough he was calm. Almost like the events that played out before him meant nothing anymore.

"What...happened?" he asked.

"It's ok. You're safe now," Maria replied blankly. "Those horrible humans were going to hurt you."

"I feel strange..." he said, clutching his head.

"Don't worry, I'm going to help you. I'll take you somewhere safe," said Maria, pulling the thief up to his feet.

His legs felt like jelly, causing him to keel over and hold onto Maria's shoulder for support. "The name's...Jason, by the way," he said, drowsily.

"I'm Maria."

Everything suddenly went white, and soon enough they had vanished, leaving behind a bloody slaughter for some unfortunate soul to discover.

* * *

Shadow entered the work room inside G.U.N HQ, he could see Towers pacing up and down angrily, the rest of the soldiers seemed quite on edge today as well. Shadow could only wonder what it could be.

"Something happen, Commander?" Shadow asked, taking a seat.

"Of course something did! And today of all days, God dammit. Months of nothing happening, and now this out of nowhere," said Towers, suddenly stopping to face Shadow.

"What happened?" Shadow persisted.

"We're not really sure on how it happened, but there's been a report of a gruesome murder down at central Westopolis, there was a burglary before that judging from the CCTV - a young man - then all of a sudden the footage becomes grainy and we can't quite see clearly, but the bodies get sliced up in a way you couldn't even imagine. It's horrifying," Towers explained, shaking his head.

"Sounds a bit unusual...may I see the footage?" Shadow asked.

"Very well, here it is," said Towers, he switched on the TV before them and the footage began playing, Shadow could see the burglary clearly and the thief being chased down, once it got to the alleyway it became distorted and unclear, though Shadow could slighlty make out a silhouette from behind the graininess. It was the shape of a woman, he couldn't see what she looked like, but suddenly there were shapes around her and soon after the police officers were cut up instantly.

Shadow couldn't help but feel uneasy, this didn't seem like any ordinary murder. Just who was this woman? Were they even human?

"That's very strange...the footage before the killings was clear, could it be just that the CCTV malfunctioned at that moment?" said Shadow, frowning.

"That's what I wanna know myself, but we don't know for sure. I need you to look into this case for me, Shadow. Find out anything you can, if there's someone out there capable of doing this to civilians then I want them caught, no matter what!" said Towers, clenching his fists.

"Of course, Commander," said Shadow.

"I've also contacted Agent Rouge, she will be helping you on this case," Towers added.

"What-"

There was a sudden knock on the door, interrupting them. Commander Towers nodded to one of the soldiers and they walked over to open it, revealing Rouge herself standing at the door with a smirk plastered upon her face.

"Mornin' boys! Did you miss me?" said Rouge, stepping into the room and waggling her fingers at one of the soldiers.

"Just in time Rouge, I was telling Shadow about the case you'll both be working on," said Towers, gesturing for Rouge to take a seat.

"So you've said, sounds like a messed up case, nothing we can't handle anyway. Right, Shads?" said Rouge, winking at Shadow. He stared blankly back at her.

"Excellent. The murder took place down on Union street in Central Westopolis, I want you back down there, try and find anything that could give us some sort of clue on who or what did this, understood?" Towers explained, turning his back on them.

"Yes, sir," said Rouge.

"Understood," said Shadow.

"Good, there are a couple of documents left in both your offices, you will fill these out once you come back, now go!" said Towers.

Both Shadow and Rouge stood up from their seats and made their way out the door, there was a moment of silence between the two as they made their way down to Central Westopolis, it irritated Rouge.

She cleared her throat. "Isn't this great? It's just like old times," said Rouge, playfully.

Shadow glanced at her, narrowing his eyes. "I think you were less of a distraction back then."

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" Rouge snapped, placing her hands on her hips.

"Nothing, just remember we're here on a mission. No funny business, got it?" said Shadow, walking ahead.

"I'm not gonna start groping you if that's what you're so worried about, I take my job seriously too y'know," Rouge retorted, picking up the pace.

Once they'd reached Union Street Rouge took it upon herself to investigate an area further away from Shadow, just to spite him. There were police tapes everywhere, and Rouge had to be careful not to trample on anything important. There was an eerie atmosphere surrounding the place, it sent chills down her spine, but she continued down the long alleyway. Rouge kept walking until she stepped on something sticky, the gooey substance stretched as she lifted her shoe away from it; grimacing as it refused to come off.

"Ugh, what the hell is this?" Rouge mumbled, reaching down to swipe a small piece of the substance and examine it on her fingers. It was red with a tinge of green on it. "Well, I suppose it's something to look into," Rouge added, pulling out a clear plastic bag and placing the sticky substance inside it.

She was startled when she suddenly heard a noise from behind her, causing her to whip around, but there wasn't anything there. Rouge's ears flattened against her head, her heart beating hard against her chest, she didn't like it here anymore. The noise was heard again, this time louder.

"Wh-who's there?" Rouge called out, walking slowly towards the sound. It was coming from the large dumpster, clattering and banging was heard inside it, almost like something was trying to break free.

Rouge edged closer, clenching her fists. She needed to know what was inside it. She reached out towards the lid, her heart beating so fast she could barely think straight. Rouge grabbed hold of the lid and slowly began opening it, whatever was inside it suddenly burst through the lid and flew up towards the sky, causing Rouge to scream. She looked up and could only catch a small glimpse of the creature, it looked like a bat of somesort, but she knew that it wasn't. It was strange.

It vanished out of sight before Rouge could go after it, all she could do was stare up, desperately trying to see where it could have flown to.

"Rouge-!" Shadow called, suddenly turning up behind her, causing Rouge to gasp loudly.

"Shit! God, don't scare me like that!" Rouge snapped, clutching her chest.

"Sorry, did you find anything?" Shadow asked.

"I found this gooey stuff, but then there was this...thing, it looked like a bat but it wasn't, fuck it scared the shit out of me, it just flew off somewhere, I couldn't even react fast enough," Rouge gabbled, her heart still beating fast.

"No point in trying to follow it now, it might have been nothing. Anyway, I couldn't find anything else except strands of hair near the crime scene, but that was it. Better than nothing I suppose, we'll bring them back to HQ and run some tests on them, see what we can find," said Shadow, turning away from Rouge.

Rouge caught up with Shadow as they walked out of the alleyway, she was still shaken up.

"I don't know why you're acting so cold and nonchalant about this, but it's starting to piss me off. What if that thing was a connection with the murder?" said Rouge, angrily.

Shadow sighed. "We don't know what that thing _was_ exactly, you can't just go making blind assumptions like that. It could be anywhere now. We have what could be some evidence, that's good enough for now."

"And what? Wait for another gruesome murder to happen?" Rouge spat.

"Enough! We don't know what happened exactly, the least we can do is run some tests on what we have now so we can get a better idea on what we're up against," Shadow snapped.

Rouge frowned, not bothering to say another word. Shadow didn't mean to act like such an asshole, to truth was he was a little afraid himself, the footage from the CCTV didn't make sense to him. He wanted to know what this creature was that did this. It infuriated him that they couldn't find as much evidence as he wanted, there was barely a sign of anything down there, and no one had seen anything except for what was caught on the camera, and even then it was so unclear. To make matters worse, the thief seen on the CCTV footage was nowhere to be seen, if he'd been killed as well there was no body recovered. The entire situation was baffling, to say the least.

They made it back to the headquarters and Shadow went straight to the laboratory to run some tests on the evidence they'd found, Towers wasn't amused at the little evidence they'd come back with but left them to it. He had sent his soldiers to patrol the area in case of another attack and for now that was all they could do. Rouge was still giving Shadow the silent treatment, she retreated back into her office to finish filling out the documents Commander Towers had left for them, while Shadow decided to head back into his own office and work on them as well. Even though he was busy writing down on each sheet of paper, his mind was elsewhere. Could there have been any other cases similar to this one? The image of that silhouette of the woman flashed in his mind, the shapes that had formed around her, if he didn't know any better it looked like they had formed from her body.

' _Could this be a connection with the Black Creatures that killed Sarah?'_

Shadow shook his head, he didn't want to think about that. He needed to focus on what was happening now, it was probably nothing to do with them. Shadow looked down at the files he was filling out, he began trying to write again when a pain pierced through his head.

"Ugh!" Shadow groaned, clutching his forehead. Blurred images of Sarah getting sliced through her chest by one of those Black Creatures shot through his mind. Another blurred image of a blonde haired woman running down the corridor, she stopped and looked in fear at the soldiers surrounding her, Shadow could barely make out her face. Gunshots were heard and...her name.

' _What was her name again?'_

Then a scream.

A _scream._

"Shadow?"

Shadow suddenly snapped back into reality, he looked up to see Rouge standing at the doorway with a look of concern on her face. She bit her lip, suddenly feeling a bit awkward.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

Shadow ran his fingers through his quills. "I'm fine, I'm just tired."

Rouge folded her arms. "Y'know you can be real with me, right?"

Shadow only stared blankly at her. "I don't wanna bore you with the details, it's just the usual."

Rouge sighed and walked over to his desk. "Why are you being so cold all of a sudden?" she sat on the edge of the desk, much to Shadow's slight annoyance.

"I'm not..." he sighed, it was useless trying to pretend. "Look, I just don't want my friends getting wrapped up in my personal shit. Especially with what happened to Sarah. I don't know if this murder case is any connection with that, but I don't want anyone involved."

"Oh for God's sake, Shadow! We _want_ to help you! I know you're mister lone wolf and all but fuck that, we're all in this together and whatever is happening in _our_ city is as much our concern as yours, you can't dictate what we can't and can do!" Rouge shouted, slamming her hands on the table.

Rouge waited for Shadow to react, to stand up and yell in her face, but he just remained silent. Staring at her with a deep frown on his face.

Rouge sighed, exasperated. "Whatever, I'm going home. See you when you get back." With that, she quickly marched out of the room and slammed the door behind her, leaving Shadow to finish filling in his documents.

Shadow couldn't help but feel a stab of guilt, he knew his behaviour had been distant and confusing nonetheless, but it wasn't like he knew what to make of it either. He had these emotions welling up inside him, and he didn't know what they meant, or what to do with them for that matter. He wanted to rekindle his friendship with Rouge, but so far it didn't seem to be going so well; they were using each other for their own sexual gratification and that probably wasn't the right way to go about things, and Shadow knew this. But, he also knew he couldn't resist Rouge for a number of reasons, one of them being the immense pleasure he gained from sleeping with her. It made him forget everything for a moment, and that's all he wanted right now. As good as it made him feel, he also felt strange about viewing his old friend this way. It was different with strangers, he had no real connection with them, but with Rouge there was. Shadow knew he had always cared about Rouge, but as his friend and partner, to question that there may be something else there made him feel weird. It was probably just lust, and nothing more.

With his thoughts racing again, Shadow found it hard to concentrate. Filling in some stupid document was the last thing on his mind right now, yet he somehow managed to get it done. Just in time too, it was getting quite late, he glanced up at the clock in his office and it read 12am. Had he really been sitting there that long?

He left the documents to one side and made his way out of the headquarters, it was pitch black outside; Rouge had left the front door unlocked so that Shadow could let himself in once he got back. He reached the apartment at long last and was about to open the door when it suddenly opened in front of him, and out came Manic.

Manic stopped abruptly, a little startled to see Shadow standing at the doorway.

"Shit, you scared me, dude!" said Manic, laughing nervously. "I forgot you live with Rouge now."

Shadow remained silent, frowning at Manic. Manic swallowed hard, feeling the uneasy tension building up in the air.

"Well, I'll see you around!" he said, stepping around Shadow and quickly walking back down the road, disappearing into the night.

Shadow stepped inside the apartment and shut the door behind him, there was no sign of Rouge in the living room, not that Shadow was surprised really seeing as Manic was here. Whatever deeds they'd been doing was obviously done up in her bedroom, probably to avoid the embarrassment of if Shadow had arrived back early and walked in on them fooling around on the couch. Or something like that.

It was more of a reason to take the couch tonight, he knew Rouge had a spare bedroom upstairs but he wasn't in any mood to bump into her right now. All he needed at this moment was sleep. Shadow pulled his shirt over his head, he unbuckled his belt and was about to take off his trousers when he heard a noise behind him.

"Ahem."

Shadow turned to see Rouge standing with her arms folded and her favorite dressing gown on, she was still a bit miffed with him, but she found it very hard to remain so when someone as attractive as Shadow was standing shirtless right in front of her. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him topless before, but that didn't stop her cheeks heating up at the very sight of him, she couldn't deny that Shadow had a pretty amazing body. The muscles in his arms, his taut stomach, it was enough to make her feel weak at the knees; but she managed to regain her composure.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "See something you like?"

Rouge frowned deeply. "Oh, shut up! What are you doing anyway?" she snapped.

"Clearly, I'm getting ready for bed," said Shadow, gesturing to the couch.

"I have a spare bedroom upstairs, y'know," said Rouge.

"I didn't wanna disturb you, thought you might have been pretty tired with having Manic around and all," said Shadow, folding his arms.

Rouge couldn't control the blush forming across her cheeks now. "That's none of your business."

Shadow shrugged. "All right."

Rouge sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "Just come with me, you're not sleeping on the couch."

Shadow followed her upstairs to where the spare bedroom was, it was directly across from her own bedroom. She unlocked the door and opened it up, it was clear not many people used the spare room, but it was nice. Smaller than her room, but still quite spacious. Rouge grabbed some extra pillows and blankets from the wardrobe and lay them out on the bed for Shadow.

"Here. Sorry if it's a bit dusty in here, I don't really get a lot of guests in this room," said Rouge, wiping the dust off her hands.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," said Shadow, sitting on the edge of the bed.

There was a moment of silence, before Rouge spoke up again. "Well, I hope it's comfortable for you. See you in the morning."

She was about to walk out the door before Shadow called out, "Rouge, wait."

She turned back to him. "What is it?" said Rouge, rather impatiently.

"Look...I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've been very cold and not overly open with you. I know I keep giving you the same excuses over and over, and I haven't been very good at patching up our friendship. I just want you to know that I don't want anything bad to happen to you," said Shadow.

Rouge sighed. "You're being a bit vague again, but all right. Just tell me what's on your mind," said Rouge, walking over and sitting down next to Shadow.

"That's the thing, it's all a bit messy to me too. What do you even do when you're trying so hard to keep the past behind you and the past doesn't even make sense to you at this point? Why are my memories such a blur?" said Shadow, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Shadow...do you even remember what happened on Space Coloney Ark?" Rouge asked.

"A...bit. This image of a blonde haired girl plays in my mind over and over, and for some reason I can't even remember her name," said Shadow.

Rouge bit her lip. "Her name's Maria...she was your best friend. I don't really think it's an appropriate time to just tell you about all this, seeing as your memories are a mess at the moment. I don't wanna overwhelm you," said Rouge.

Shadow looked at her. "Rouge, I wanna know everything."

"I'll tell you everything you need to know tomorrow, it's getting late and you need sleep," said Rouge, standing up.

"You're not just saying that to avoid the subject, are you?" Shadow questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Rouge let out a small snort. "Of course not, don't be silly. But for now, I'm exhausted and I need my beauty sleep," said Rouge, stretching loudly. "Sweet dreams, sushine."

Rouge waggled her fingers at Shadow and shut the door behind her, leaving Shadow with a million questions circling his mind. How did she expect him to sleep after that?

Shadow sighed and lay back down on the bed, pulling the covers over him. A small bit of relief washed over him knowing that he'd at least get some answers to the blurred memories he was having, but that same familiar feeling of dread lingered inside his chest.

Something wasn't right, and he couldn't understand what it was and why he was feeling like this.

* * *

Maria watched as Jason's body lay in an incubator, he had been unconcsious for several hours now as his body adjusted to the new cells it was producing after being infected by the Black Arms' blood in Maria's system. Something she didn't realize she could do up until now, Black Doom wasn't amused in the slightest.

"Fool! Why did you bring a human here? You should have killed him along with the rest of them!" Black Doom's voice boomed angrily.

"The humans wanted him dead, I pitied him. I thought he would be able to help us," said Maria, staring up at Black Doom.

"The girl is right, see this as a perfect opportunity for you. We could use the boy as our very own meat shield, a weapon out on the front line to fight with your Black Arms' soldiers while Maria focuses on convincing Shadow to join you," Dr. Snively spoke up, visibly fascinated as he watched Jason's uconscious body.

"Very well. Though I have no interest in your little experiments, Doctor. You take care of the boy," said Black Doom. He turned to Maria. "My child, the time of reckoning is upon us. We must prepare for our attack."

Maria nodded. "I am ready."

"Excellent. Come, let us gather our army."

Maria followed Black Doom out of the room, leaving Dr. Snively to watch over Jason. He watched as his body contracted, the same way Maria's had once they had injected the Black Arms' blood into her body. It was fascinating. Snively wasn't aware of the possibilty of infecting a human being with the blood of a Black Arms alien, he wondered if Jason would possess the same strength Maria did despite having fully live and functioning cells before hand. He would soon find out. Snively watched as Jason's eyes flickered open, looking around the strange room before him, before setting his gaze upon Snively himself.

"Ah, you're awake! And just in time too, the preparations for our attack have just begun..."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Ahhh, sorry this took so long to upload, I've been busy with work. Thank you to all who have shown interest and reviewed the story so far, it's much appreciated! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **~ Kisa**


	5. Chapter 5: Punishment, Thy Name is Ruin

**Chapter 5**

* * *

It was sometime during the early hours of the morning, and Rouge lay there in her bed; wide awake and unable to get any sleep. Her thoughts were racing, and she hated herself for feeling this way. For just _feeling_ , to be precise. It was no secret to Rouge, the feelings she had for Shadow had been lingering since his return, and Rouge would be lying if she said she hadn't always loved him. _Love._ That very word made her cringe, yet she couldn't even deny it, it was the reason why she always forgave him so easily. Why she was so eager to help him, to be around him. Why it hurt so much when he left that very day seven years ago, only Rouge took it upon herself to try and supress those feelings, to try and see other guys; and for a while it had worked.

Up until now.

' _And this is why you don't fuck your best friends,'_ Rouge thought to herself, sighing out loud.

Rouge wasn't afraid of a lot of things, but when it came to emotions - Rouge was terrified. Yet here she was, hopping out of her bed and making her way towards the spare bedroom where Shadow slept. She stopped in front of the door, standing there for a moment until she gently knocked on the door. There was no answer. Rouge slowly opened the door and inched her way inside.

"Shadow?" Rouge hissed, she was relieved when she heard a grumble from Shadow as a response.

His body stirred and he slowly turned over to face Rouge. "What do you want?" he asked drowsily, rubbing his eyes.

Rouge rubbed her arms, suddenly looking a bit sheepish. It was strange seeing her this way.

"I guess I'm just feeling a little lonely, do you mind if I sleep next to you?" Rouge asked, glancing over at Shadow.

Shadow watched her stand there awkwardly, he didn't know why, but he enjoyed seeing her this way. It was a vulnerable side to Rouge, one he'd rarely seen for the time he'd known her. In a way, he thought it was quite adorable, and it felt weird to admit that. Shadow let out a sigh.

"Sure," said Shadow, patting the empty space next to him.

Rouge's ears perked up, and she slipped in under the covers next to Shadow. She lay there staring up at the ceiling, sleep was the last thing on her mind right now. She dared to glance over at Shadow, he was also wide awake and looking upwards, obviously making no effort to get back to sleep. A moment passed, and neither one of them made a move. Rouge was getting impatient. She suddenly turned over and soon enough was straddling Shadow, causing him to raise his eyebrows slightly at her sudden actions.

Rouge gripped the end of her skimpy night dress and tugged it up over her head; revealing her soft, large breasts and lacy underwear. She pressed her body down onto Shadow's, feeling his already growing erection poking against her. Shadow gripped her hips, her skin smooth against his hands, he watched as Rouge trailed her hand over his clothed member. His breath hitched as she stroked his length through the material, she was teasing him. And he was having none of that.

"W-wait, Rouge," Shadow stammered, grabbing hold of Rouge's wrist. She stopped stroking him, and looked up, a puzzled expression plastered on her beautiful face.

Shadow gently pushed Rouge off of him and sat up. "Turn around, this time I wanna make you feel good instead," said Shadow.

Rouge could feel her cheeks heat up, she did as she was told and turned her back to Shadow. She felt his hands caress her smooth back, before trailing them back up towards her shoulders. A small gasp escaped her lips as she felt him slowly massage her shoulders, Shadow leaned down and began planting soft kisses along her neck, soon enough his kisses transformed into nips, drawing a soft moan from Rouge. His hands trailed from her shoulders to her ample breasts, his fingers rolling over her nipples slowly, causing Rouge to lean back against Shadow's strong chest. The sensations he was giving her felt amazing, and she didn't want him to stop.

She was disappointed when she felt Shadow's grip on her breasts loosen, only to find that they were now placed on her thighs, she shivered as he stroked the sensitive area of her inner thighs. He was teasing her, and it wasn't fair.

"Sh-Shadow..." Rouge whimpered, hips bucking against his touch.

"Yes, Rouge?" Shadow asked, smirking at her eagerness.

Rouge gave him an exasperated look. It only pleased him further.

"What ever could you want..." he grinned, a hint of mockery in his voice. He pulled off her underwear and trailed a hand down over her opening, sliding two fingers across her clit and causing her to gasp loudly.

Shadow smirked at her response, his skilled fingers playing relentlessly with her sensitive area. He dipped his fingers further into her soaking folds, rubbing her clit while his other hand played with her nipple, Rouge could only scream out in ecstasy. But Shadow didn't stop there, he wanted to hear more and more from Rouge. He pushed two fingers deep inside of her, satisfied when he heard a loud moan as a response. He slid his fingers in and out quickly, gradually picking up the pace until Rouge was practically screaming his name. Just as Rouge felt herself close to her orgasm, Shadow removed his fingers from inside her.

Rouge looked back at Shadow, frustration plastered on her face. Her expression soon changed as she watched Shadow slowly lick the juices off his fingers, her cheeks couldn't be any more red.

He placed a hand on her chest and slowly pushed her back down on the bed, she watched tentatively as he leaned his head down to plant kisses along her inner thigh, before moving towards her juicy opening. He stuck his tongue out and dragged it along her clit, he gripped her hips and began licking her slit rapidly, causing her to arch her back as she got more heated by the second. He dipped his tongue inside her fully, exploring her warm depths, enjoying the loud moans he got from Rouge.

"Oh my God, YES!" Rouge screamed out. She grabbed a hold of Shadow's quills and tugged hard, panting as she felt herself near her peak.

Shadow's tongue was merciless, flicking her clit quickly while he began thrusting two fingers in and out of her, Rouge couldn't take it any longer. She cried out Shadow's name as she reached her climax, his tongue drinking up all of her juices. Her legs were shaking as he pulled away; he sat up, smiling down at her quivering body.

Shadow didn't want to wait a moment longer and tugged off his boxers, hissing as the cool air hit his throbbing cock. He leaned his head down towards Rouge's ear.

"Get on your knees," he said gruffly.

Rouge did as she was told, her heart beating fast as she got on her hands and knees in a doggy style position, glancing over at Shadow who had positioned himself over her. He ran a hand up and down his length, stimulating himself before he readied his shaft at her entrance. Without hesitation, he pushed his cock deep inside her. Rouge cried out, glad to feel that familiar fullness she'd been wanting all this time. She dug her fingers into the sheets while he thrust in and out of her with such force. She began moving her hips back against him, drawing in every inch of his dick as she did so. She quivered at the sensation as he continued fucking her quickly.

" _Ooooh,_ yes!Just like that, Shadow!" She moaned.

He pounded even faster in and out of her, making Rouge scream louder and louder with each thrust. Shadow suddenly pulled out, Rouge collapsed on the bed and panted loudly, before Shadow grabbed a hold of her and positioned her so that she was facing him now. She gripped onto his shoulders while he balanced her, and slammed her down onto his shaft. Shadow dug his fingers into her hips as he bounced her up and down his cock, he picked up the pace and moved her up and down quickly. Rouge moaned loudly, overwhelmed by how good it felt, loving how Shadow growled her name as he pushed himself deeply into her.

Shadow was trying his hardest to fuck Rouge as hard as he could, accelerating to a speed only he could achieve, and causing Rouge to scream so loud he expected the neighbours to come knocking any minute. He pulled her head down and kissed her, his fingers getting tangled up in her snow white hair. His body rubbed up against hers each time he thrust deeply into her. Rouge could feel her next orgasm building up inside her, Shadow switched positions so that Rouge was now beneath him and he began pounding into her, making the ivory bat scream his name again and again. Finally, she cried out Shadow's name one last time before releasing herself all over him, panting hard.

"Oh, FUCK!" Shadow yelled, exploding inside Rouge's body.

Shadow collapsed on the bed next to Rouge, breathing heavily. Rouge felt slightly dizzy from the experience, her head was pounding and her womanhood swollen, but she never felt as satisifed as she did now. She glanced over at the clock.

"Jesus, did we really fuck for two hours? Unbelieveable," said Rouge.

"Looks like it," said Shadow, pulling his boxers back on.

"I have to be in work in a few hours," Rouge groaned.

Shadow fumbled around in the pocket of his trousers until he found a packet of cigarettes and pulled them out, he walked over to the window and opened it up, pulling out a cigarette from the pack and lighting it. Rouge raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Instead she reached down to pick up her clothes and pull them back on, wincing as she did so.

"God, it's gonna hurt to walk around in work today," said Rouge, stretching.

"You're welcome," said Shadow, blowing out a puff of smoke.

Rouge watched Shadow smoking. "You know that's a bad habit to get into."

Shadow snorted and glanced back at Rouge. "You know you're supposed to tell me about Maria."

"Do I have to go into full detail? I'm exhausted," said Rouge, flopping back down on the bed.

"Well, then give me the basics for now. What happened?" Shadow asked, taking another drag from his cigarette.

Rouge sighed. "I mean, she was your best friend. And the granddaughter to Dr. Gerald Robotnik. She was killed by G.U.N for setting you free, all because they thought you were a weapon created to destroy mankind. But, that was 50 odd years ago."

Shadow nodded. "Sounds awful...I can barely remember her though." That was partially a lie, her face had been haunting him for so long.

"It'll come back to you. Anyway, I'm gonna hop in the shower and get ready for work, see you later!" said Rouge, dragging herself up off the bed and heading out the door towards the bathroom.

Shadow stayed by the window, finishing up his cigarette. He thought about going back to sleep for a bit, but then decided against it. He needed to head back down to G.U.N HQ and see if any results showed up from the tests he ran on the evidence they found yesterday, he hoped there would be something that would help them figure out what happened to those police officers.

It was still quite early, so Shadow decided to relax for a while until he heard Rouge leave the apartment an hour later. He wasn't sure what to do with himself, so he headed downstairs to fix himself a cup of coffee and sit down in the living room for a while, there was a newspaper left down on the coffee table. Shadow picked it up and scanned through it, there wasn't a lot of interesting topics inside: stories about celebrities, food articles, the weather, a snippet about the Union Street murder caught Shadow's eye though. There wasn't much said that Shadow didn't already know about, but it did have a picture of the thief whose body they couldn't find at the scene of the crime. Apparently, he'd been in an out of jail for various burglaries throughout the city. His name was Jason Hood, not that it really meant anything to Shadow; but if this guy were to show up at least he knew what he looked liked now.

Shadow finished up his coffee and glanced at his watch, it was just after nine. He threw on his jacket and made his way out of the apartment, ready to head down to HQ. He managed to walk halfway down the street when his phone vibrated, Shadow pulled it out and answered it.

"Hello?" said Shadow.

There was a crackling sound, before a voice spoke. "Sh-Shadow- th-there's something wrong-"

It was Commander Towers, and judging by his voice he sounded like he was in a lot of pain. Shadow's heart thumped against his chest. "Commander? What's happening?"

"Th-these creatures - you gotta get out of here-! -"

There was muffled yelling in the background, and the line suddenly went dead. Shadow shoved his phone back into his pocket, frowning.

"Shit," Shadow cursed to himself.

' _I've gotta go help Towers.'_

Shadow fumbled in his pockets until he pulled out the Chaos Emerald he'd been keeping on him, he was about to Chaos Control to G.U.N HQ when suddenly the sky had turned red. Shadow looked up, confused, and watched as a dark cloud formed in a circle above the city. A portal appeared inside the circle, and from there he watched as a large number of black creatures emerged from inside it and came crashing down into the city. It all happened so fast, chaos ensued as the black aliens immediately destroyed anything that was in their path, blasting cars into buildings and attacking pedestrians that were unfortunate enough to be near them.

Shadow watched in horror, were these the same creatures that attacked Towers at HQ? They looked familiar, but he needed a closer inspection. Shadow could hear gunfire from a distance, and spotted an army of gun soldiers desperately trying to take down these creatures. If these were the same creatures that attacked HQ they had probably moved on to rampage elsewhere, right now Shadow had another worry on his mind.

He pulled out his phone and dialled Rouge's number, nervously waiting for her to answer.

"Come on...pick up!" Shadow mumbled to himself.

"Shadow!" Rouge answered, her voice filled with panic.

"Rouge! Where are you? Are you ok?" Shadow asked.

"I'm fine! Myself and Manic gathered up some people at the bar and brought them to the shelter next door, we're holding out for now until the others come back, but we haven't heard from Belina! She might still be stuck in the hotel!" said Rouge, worriedly.

"I'll go get her, just stay there Rouge and don't move until I get there!" said Shadow.

"Be careful Shadow!"

Shadow hung up and pushed his phone back in his pocket, "Chaos Control!" Shadow yelled, a bright light appearing around him as he was transported to the hotel where Belina worked.

The hotel was already falling apart from where the black creatures attacked, Shadow could see a couple of bodies amongst all the rubble. Thankfully, none of them were Belina. He pressed on, dodging parts of the building that had fallen apart from above, he could hear muffled crying in the distance and ran towards it. There, curled in a ball and sobbing, with a large metal cabinet lying on top of her right foot; was Belina.

"Belina!" Shadow called, running up to her.

Belina's head shot up. "Shadow!" she sobbed.

"Don't worry Belina, I'm gonna get you out of here!" said Shadow, crouching down next to her. He grabbed hold of the metal cabinet and pulled it off Belina's foot. Her ankle had been crushed, and was now a bloody mess. Shadow grabbed Belina by the hand and hoisted her arm over his shoulders, placing his other arm around her waist for support as he helped her stand up. Belina immediately lost her balance and fell against him.

"I- I can't walk!" she choked, tears streaming down her face.

"It's ok, just hold onto me," said Shadow.

He placed his arm under her legs and picked her up bridal style. Belina wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on for dear life as Shadow jumped out of the crumbling window towards the ground below them.

Once they'd reached the ground, Shadow Chaos Controlled them back to the shelter. Rouge glanced over at the beam of light and soon saw Shadow walking towards them, an injured Belina in his arms. She ran over to them.

"Holy shit, Belina!" Rouge exclaimed.

"It's just my ankle Rouge, it'll be fine," said Belina, wincing as she was placed gently on the ground. "Do you have any idea where Sonic and the others are?" she added.

"Sonic, Amy and Knuckles ran off to fight these black creatures, Tails and Manic are off to get the X Tornado and the van," said Rouge, she looked frightened. "We need to get these people out of here."

"I'll help get rid of these black aliens," said Shadow, pulling out an AK-47 from the inside of his jacket. "You guys wait here."

Rouge wanted to argue back, but she knew she couldn't stop him. "Just, be careful Shadow. We'll come get you guys once Manic and Tails get back."

Shadow nodded, and ran off out into the city, the black aliens numbers had doubled - and the city was practically swarming in them at this point. Huge lasers fired down from the sky, destroying anything in its' path. Shadow could see these black creatures clearly now, they were exactly the same ones that killed Sarah. He gritted his teeth, clenching his AK-47, and began blasting every alien in sight. His blood heated up at the very sight of them, he wanted to destroy every single one of them, they weren't gonna take anyone else he cared about. He had to make sure of that.

Shadow trudged onwards, and was immediately halted by an eerie voice from behind him.

"Shadow..."

Shadow turned around to find the figure of a sinister looking creature materialize before him.

"It's been a very long time, Shadow. As you can see, the day of reckoning will soon be here," Black Doom spoke.

"Huh? Who the hell are you? And how do you know my name?" Shadow asked, clutching his weapon tightly.

"There is so much you don't know, so much I must tell you. Alas, we don't have the time now, but you will soon understand..." said Black Doom.

"What are you talking about? Understand what?"

Black Doom let out a small chuckle. "She will find you soon, only then will you begin to understand the truth..."

Before Shadow could say anything else, Black Doom vanished into thin air. Leaving Shadow both confused, and with a million questions circling his mind. _'Just what was that all about? Was he their leader? Why does he know my name?'_ Shadow's thoughts were soon interrupted by Sonic calling his name:

"Shadow! Where ya been, slowpoke?" said Sonic, running up to him.

"These black aliens just came outta nowhere, what the fuck is going on here?!" said Knuckles, looking all around him.

"I wish I knew, there's just so many of them," said Shadow, scratching his quills.

"We've been fighting them nonstop, but more just keep appearing!" Amy wailed.

"We'd better keep going then, Tails should be back with the X Tornado and that'll be a huge help!" said Sonic, trying to keep positive.

The three of them ran ahead, fighting off more of the black aliens, they all varied in size as well as species. There were ones that were gargantuan in size, clutching large glowing weapons in their hands. Then there were the smaller ones, most of them could be seen holding peculiar looking guns, firing lazers at everything in sight. Shadow couldn't help but notice the red fruit-like plants that were suddenly growing everywhere, and decided to take these out too. The more aliens they killed, the more others seemed to appear out of nowhere, the numbers increasing by the minute.

Shadow noticed a bat like black alien attempting to flee from the scene, and began chasing it down. He caught up to it just in time to shoot it down successfully, but only when he was about to turn back did he notice these small parasitic looking creatures moving slowly along the ground. Shadow wondered if these were the offspring to the black creatures they were fighting, planted here to infest the city further and create more of these aliens. Shadow stamped his foot down on one, sending parts of it splattering all over the ground as it was crushed.

"Disgusting creatures," Shadow scoffed, grimacing.

A strange feeling came over him, almost like he was being watched by something. Or rather, someone. Shadow looked up towards the tall building before him and spotted a young blonde-haired woman standing above it, watching him intently. Shadow narrowed his eyes, frowning.

"Who..." A sudden pain shot through his head, causing him to groan and clutch his forehead. Images of Maria flashed through his mind, her face, those eyes...

Shadows eyes grew wide at the sudden realization, this woman standing before him... She was Maria.

"It... It can't be..." Shadow uttered in disbelief.

Maria suddenly jumped down from the building, landing swiftly on the ground before him. Her face lacked any kind of emotion, it was almost like she didn't even know who he was.

"Black Doom said I'd find you here," said Maria, she even spoke in a monotone.

Shadow was stunned, all he could do was stare helplessly at his former friend before him. The very friend that was supposed to have died 57 years ago.

"M-Maria..." said Shadow, his heart thumping wildly. "It's me, Shadow."

Maria's expression remained unchanged. "I've been sent to look for you, you must come with me."

Shadow opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly a voice from behind him called out.

"Shadow!" said Sonic, running up to him. "Where have you-"

Sonic stopped speaking as he noticed Maria standing in front of them, his smile soon dropped.

"What the fuck..." said Sonic, hoarsely.

Maria's gaze swivelled over to Sonic. "I do not wish to have any disruptions," she spoke blankly.

"Maria! I-I'm so glad you're alive," said Shadow, his voice shaking.

Sonic looked over at Shadow, frowning. "Shadow, that's not Maria! She died, remember!?"

"Shut up!" Shadow snapped, gritting his teeth. "Maria, I'm so sorry I didn't come find you sooner, I had no idea you were still alive..."

Maria stared at Shadow, she didn't even flinch at what he was saying to her. She looked so much like Maria, bar an older version, but there was no mistake that it was her. Her clothes were different, but her signature blue hairband was there, and those eyes...

"Shadow, please come with me. There is so much you need to know," said Maria, extending her hand out to him.

"Maria, please stop joking around, don't you remember who I am?" said Shadow, his voice cracking.

"Shadow, snap out of it! Maria is dead! She's trying to trick you, she could be one of those monsters!" Sonic yelled.

Shadow suddenly turned to him, his eyes filled with rage. "SHUT UP OR I'LL SMASH YOUR FACE IN!"

Maria stared back at Sonic. "I don't have time for interruptions..."

Her back began pulsating, and soon enough several bladed tentacles formed in sight before them. Sonic stared in horror.

Tears began welling up in Shadow's eyes. "P-Please...Maria..." he choked, still in disbelief at what was happening in front of him. _'This isn't real.'_

Maria raised one of the bladed tentacles. "Die," she said, blankly.

"SHADOW!" Sonic yelled.

The tentacle flew towards Sonic at high speed, he tried to dodge out of its' way but the tentacle sliced quickly through Sonic's left wrist. Shadow stared, blood spattering everywhere as Sonic's hand had been sliced off in front of him, the blue hedgehog screaming in pain and clutching the now bloody stump where his hand used to be. Shadow stood there stunned, unable to react to what was happening around him. His supposedly dead best friend had just cut off his rival's hand, and all Shadow could do was stare helplessly at the situation before him. It was like he'd completely forgotten how to function, his heart felt tight against his chest, he couldn't breathe properly. He looked back up at Maria, she had switched her gaze back to Shadow; the bladed tentacles disappearing into her back. Out of sight, but not out of mind.

The loud sound of an engine caught Maria's attention once again, she looked behind Shadow to see a van driving at full speed towards them.

She turned back to Shadow. "In a few days I'll be at Prison Island. Promise you'll come meet me there, alone. There's so much we must talk about," said Maria, brushing a hand across Shadow's cheek.

Shadow watched as this large airship materialized before them, lowering down towards Maria. She backed away from Shadow and quickly ran up the panel that had appeared, disappearing onto the ship. It zoomed up towards the sky, and quickly vanished out of sight. The van halted suddenly, Rouge and Tails hopped out of the van towards Sonic, yelling his name as he lay bleeding on the ground. Amy and Knuckles had caught up to them as well, Shadow could hear them shouting stuff but he wasn't paying attention. The noises around him were muffled out, several images playing out so fast in his head he could barely make them out. All he could think about was Maria. She was alive.

And she was a monster.

Shadow screamed, falling to his knees and choking. He was panting hard, his heart felt like it was about to rip in two and this heavy feeling on his chest made it hard to breathe. He clutched his chest tightly, trying so hard to regain his breath. Nothing was making sense to him, he knew Maria had died back on the Ark 57 years ago, yet she had been standing in front of him not long ago.

' _Are my memories even real anymore? Have they been altered? Did Maria even die 57 years ago?'_

"Shadow! We have to get out of here!" Rouge yelled, but Shadow didn't respond. Rouge ran up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders, making him face her. "Shadow! We can't stay here! Come on!"

Shadow stared blankly back at her, but obediently followed her into the van. He sat at the back with Amy, Knuckles, Sonic, Tails and Belina. Sonic's wrist had been tightly wrapped up in bandages, but the blue hedgehog didn't look so great, his face was as white as a sheet. Belina was huddled up in a corner, not speaking to anyone, tears staining her small face.

"Get us out of here, Manic!" Rouge shouted, slamming the door behind her as she got in the front of the van next to him.

Manic slammed his foot on the pedal and the van surged forwards, swerving this way and that as he tried to avoid the lasers shooting down from the sky and the collapsing buildings around them. The city was already in shambles as they drove through; Manic picked up the speed, desperate to get out of this place.

"Sonia lives out near the Mystic Ruins, we'll head there and lay low for a while until we figure out what the hell we're gonna do," said Manic, frowning deeply.

Rouge nodded and turned to Tails. "You still have the Blue Typhoon out there, right?" she asked.

"I do, but I need to run some repairs on it," said Tails, glanching anxiously at Belina.

They were interrupted by a loud blast from behind them, Manic looked up at the rear-view mirror to see several Black Aliens shooting at them from their hoverboards.

"Shit! These guys just won't let up!" said Manic, gritting his teeth and trying to swerve the van out of their range.

Rouge quickly grabbed a gun from below her seat and turned to Shadow. "Shadow! Snap out of it and help me get rid of these guys!"

Shadow jumped, almost like he had forgotten Rouge existed, he looked out to see the Black creatures shooting at the van. _'These disgusting aliens...'_ He pulled out his gun from the inside of his jacket and stood up, opening the back door. He climbed out onto the roof of the van, while Rouge opened up the passenger window and began shooting at the Black Aliens. Shadow aimed his gun at the one closest to the van and shot it straight in the head, killing it instantly. Its' dead body fell back into its' fellow creature next to it and knocked it off its' hoverboard, leaving one left. Shadow was about to pull the trigger and blast the alien away, when Rouge managed to beat him to it, shooting the creature in the chest and knocking it away from the van.

"Well that was eventful," said Rouge, looking back at Manic.

"You're telling me, I just finished cleaning this van too..." said Manic, sighing.

Shadow climbed down from the roof and headed back inside the van, shutting the door behind him.

"Nice shooting back there, Shads," said Rouge, looking up at him from the rear-view mirror.

"Right..." Shadow responded coldly, not making eye contact with Rouge.

Rouge frowned, but decided not to say anything until they got to Sonia's place. Rouge wasn't sure what Shadow saw back there once the airship disappeared, but it must have been awful. He was quieter than usual, and that's saying a lot with how anti-social Shadow is by nature. It made her feel awful seeing him this way, she had seen his tear-stained face back down that street and it made her heart wrench, Shadow crying was something she wasn't so used to seeing. Rouge may have had a brave face on, but internally she was shook. The invasion had all happened so fast, and sure they were used to being in tough situations, but this felt different. She couldn't help but think back to Shadow's story about the black creatures killing his friend, and how he felt like something bad was going to happen. Could this have been it?

The drive to Sonia's was going to be a long one. 

* * *

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys! Updated a little quicker this time as I had this chapter fully planned out for a while now. Finally getting into more of the serious stuff ahahah, hope you guys enjoy it!**

 **~ Kisa.**


	6. Chapter 6: Spawn of the Devil

**Chapter 6**

* * *

They finally arrived at Sonia's after what felt like hours and hours, Manic pulled up the van outside the house and quickly stepped out along with Rouge. He went around and opened the back door to help Belina up out of the van, while Rouge helped Sonic; Shadow stepped out as well, not saying a word to anyone. Sonia came rushing out the front door, having heard the van and peeking out the window to see Rouge and a wounded Sonic outside her house, her face was pale and she had a worried expression plastered upon her face.

"What happened?" she blurted out, running up to Sonic and Rouge. She looked up and seen the others, staring over at Manic and Belina; specifically Belina's busted up ankle. "What's going on?"

"Long story Sonia, shit went down at Westopolis but we really need medical assistance, sis," said Manic.

She stared at Sonic's blood stained, bandaged wrist, her eyes growing wide. "Holy shit...come on in, everyone!"

They followed Sonia inside and headed into the living room, Manic lay Belina down on the couch while Sonia left the room to go fetch her medical supplies. Rouge sat Sonic down next to Belina, it was strange seeing him shaken up like this and not his usual perky self. Everyone else stood about the living room, unsure of what to say, glancing at one another or staring down at the ground. All except Shadow, who stood out in the hallway, staring into the distance as he tried to wrap his head around what just happened.

Sonia quickly reappeared with her medical supplies and passed some over to Tails so that he could tend to Belina's ankle, she sat down beside Sonic.

"Oh my God...what happened to you, Sonic?" she croaked, gently taking his wrist in her hands.

Sonic winced as she began removing the dirty bandages. "...It all happened so fast, but sis this isn't anything I've been up against before...we gotta do something, fast," said Sonic, gritting his teeth.

"What are you talking about? What happened in Westopolis?" Sonia persisted, pressing a cloth down on Sonic's wrist to stop the bleeding while she applied some anesthetic.

"Ah-! Th-there's these black creatures, aliens, I don't know - they appeared out of nowhere and began wrecking the city. We tried to stop them and then...this girl- she looked human...but I don't think she was," Sonic babbled, groaning in pain.

Everyone turned to stare at Sonic, they hadn't seen what happened so this was news to them. Rouge frowned. "A girl who isn't human?" she asked.

"She looked exactly like Maria," Sonic continued. "But she had these tentacles...one flew out, and I tried to get away but I couldn't dodge it in time, and it's left me with this little problem..." he said, nodding to his now numb stump as Sonia began stitching the skin up.

"Maria?" Rouge gasped, her eyes wide.

"Shadow seemed convinced anyway," Sonic said lowly, deep frown lines appearing on his forehead.

"You're gonna have to fill myself and Manic in on who this Maria person is," said Sonia.

"She was Shadow's best friend, but she was killed by GUN soldiers 57 years ago," Rouge explained, crossing her arms tightly.

Manic looked at her in disbelief. "So...why is she alive now?" he asked.

Rouge sighed. "I have no idea...how do we know that was her for sure anyway?"

"Well you could have fooled me," said Sonic. "More importantly, I think she might be working with those Black creatures."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," said Knuckles, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, hey, let's not all lose our heads at once," said Tails, finishing up bandaging Belina's ankle and standing up. "I'll start work on the Blue Typhoon first thing tomorrow, once it's upgraded we'll have more of a chance against these Black aliens."

"Tails is right, there's not much we can do now without a solid plan formed. Look how that worked out," said Sonia, gesturing to Sonic and Belina.

Knuckles frowned, and sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We got lucky this time."

"You did, for now I think it's time we all got some rest. I'll show you all to your rooms," said Sonia as she finished up applying fresh bandages to Sonic's wrist, she stood up and walked out of the room, gesturing at the rest to follow her. All except Belina, who chose to sleep on the couch for the night.

* * *

Shadow sat at the edge of the bed, staring into space once again as he was in deep thought, it was pitch black in the room he was staying in. Sleep was the last thing on his mind with the current events that played out before him not long ago, he felt sick in the pit of his stomach and that same horrible feeling lingered in his chest. The more he thought about it, the more it drove him insane, nothing made sense no matter how hard he tried to rationalize it. Especially with how irrational it all was. _'Is Maria really working with the Black Aliens? Who brought her back from the dead? How did that Black Alien know my name?'_

Shadow's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat from behind him, he spun round to see Rouge standing at the door.

She rubbed her arm and bit her lip, looking a bit awkward. "Hey, you," she said, softly.

Shadow frowned and turned away from her. "What do you want?" he asked, his tone slightly sharp.

"I just wanted to see if you were ok," said Rouge, stepping a little closer to Shadow.

"My supposed dead best friend is alive, and I watched her rip Sonic's fucking hand off. Do you really think I'm ok?" Shadow spat.

Rouge's ears drooped a little. "I'm asking because I care, there's no need to be an ass about it."

Shadow suddenly stood up and faced Rouge, causing her to jump a little. "Maria is a monster! You told me she died, that she was fucking _shot_ on that ark!" he shouted, walking quickly over to Rouge. She stepped back, fear suddenly washing over her. He grabbed a hold of the front of her top and slammed her hard against the wall.

"Why did I see her today? _Why_ is she alive? Fucking tell me that, Rouge!" said Shadow, shaking her.

"Sh-Shadow, stop it-"

"Did you lie to me about Maria dying? Are my memories even real?! Tell me!" Shadow yelled, his voice cracking. Tears began welling up in his eyes.

Rouge felt Shadow's grip loosen on her top, watching as the tears began rolling down his face. He gritted his teeth and buried his face in the crook of Rouge's neck.

"I just don't understand...why is this all happening?" Shadow choked.

Rouge gingerly wrapped her arms around Shadow, stroking his quills softly. Just as quickly as Shadow had become upset, he felt himself immediately begin to calm down. It was a strange feeling, like he had gained a sudden sense of control again. Rouge was still stroking his head and Shadow reached up to grab her hand, gently. She raised an eyebrow at him, a little puzzled by the sudden change in his mood, until he leaned towards her and crushed his lips against hers. Rouge was a little taken aback by his actions, but soon enough melted into the kiss, it was almost intoxicating. The feeling of his soft lips on hers, his hands tangled up in her hair, she couldn't get enough of it. Rouge gripped the back of Shadow's head, deepening the kiss. Shadow tugged at her bottom lip, his fangs nipping her slightly, he kissed his way along her jawline and down to her neck. He sucked at her smooth skin, drawing a low moan from Rouge, his teeth grazing the skin, and soon enough his kisses had turned into nips.

"Mmm, Shadow..." Rouge purred, gripping his head tightly as he continued biting her neck, starting off gentle at first and gradually becoming rough.

It was starting to get a little too rough, as Shadow suddenly sunk his teeth into her soft skin and drawing blood as he did so.

"Ah-!" Rouge yelped, but Shadow didn't let up, he only sunk his teeth in further.

' _Christ, is this guy trying to bite a chunk out of me?'_

"S-stop it!" said Rouge. She grabbed a hold of Shadow's shoulders and quickly yanked him off her.

He stared at her, panting hard, wiping the blood off his lips. "What's wrong?"

Rouge held a hand up to her neck, it throbbed painfully and a bit of blood was forming from the wound. "What were you trying to do? Eat me? Shit!" Rouge spat.

"I'm...sorry, I don't know what came over me back there, my mind just kinda...blacked out," said Shadow.

Rouge frowned, it wasn't the first time he'd said that. It worried her, she wanted to know what was going on in Shadow's mind, but by the look on his face he was just as clueless as she was. Rouge bit her lip.

"It's fine... Actually, I think it's best if I leave you alone tonight, it's been a rough day for you. For all of us. Really, I'm just gonna get some sleep. You should too," said Rouge, avoiding his gaze.

Shadow raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Rouge didn't bother waiting any longer for a response, and began making her way out of the room.

"See you in the morning," said Rouge, before shutting the door behind her.

Shadow sighed to himself, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. He didn't understand what came over him back there, it was like he was a completely different person. It wasn't the first time it had happened either, and it bothered him.

There was one other thing Shadow couldn't understand, and that was Rouge. Even after his strange outbursts, she still stuck around him. Yet, tonight was probably the first time she left him alone. His own emotions were difficult enough to understand, never mind someone else's. Shadow usually brushed it off as Rouge being immune to this kind of behaviour; there was a lot she could, and did, put up with. It made him feel a little guilty that she was putting up with his crap too, but he didn't want to spend much time thinking about it; with Maria's reappearance still fresh in his mind.

' _Prison Island huh? Maybe then I'll be able to find out the truth.'_

* * *

The next few days were hectic. Tails was working his hardest to fix up the Blue Typhoon, with Sonia helping him out in any way she can. Everyone else who wasn't as tech savvy resorted to giving the ship a bit of cleaning, as it had been incredibly dusty with how long it had been left at Tails' workshop. No one had clearly been onboard since they defeated the Metarex. Everyone else was doing their bit, except Shadow. Today was the day Maria said she'd be at Prison Island, he needed to meet her there. He needed to find out the truth.

Shadow hadn't told anyone else about where he was going, but he wasn't planning on letting them know. If he did, they'd only want to go with him, and he didn't need any distractions or for anyone else to get hurt again. He needed to leave quickly before anyone saw him. Shadow reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out the Chaos emerald, shining bright and brilliant before him. He was about to say the words until her heard a voice from behind him.

"Shadow? What are you doing?"

It was Rouge. Shadow turned to look at her, annoyance plastered on his face.

"It doesn't concern you," Shadow responded.

"Cut the crap, of course it concerns me if you're just gonna up and leave again," said Rouge, crossing her arms tightly.

Shadow sighed. "I'm going to see Maria. I have to talk to her."

"I really don't think that's a good idea, look what she did to Sonic!" said Rouge, frowning.

"If she's really working with these Black creatures, then I have to speak with her. I need to understand what's going on!" said Shadow. He turned his back to Rouge. "And like it or not, you're not going to stop me."

"Shadow!" Rouge called, but her plead fell on deaf ears as Shadow was already raising the Chaos Emerald above him.

"Chaos Control!" he said; and, with a bright light shining around him, he was gone in a flash.

Rouge stared at where Shadow had stood not long ago, anger and stress building up within her. Had he any idea what he was doing to her? Her thoughts were interrupted by Manic walking up behind her.

"Hey, Rouge. What's up?" he asked, clutching an oil-stained rag.

"Oh, hey Manic. Honestly, I'm just pissed off," said Rouge.

"Is it Shadow again?" Manic asked.

Rouge nodded in response. "Isn't it always?"

"I know it's not really my place to say, but I don't know why you put up with all his crap. I mean, I don't know him well enough, but he seems so distant with everyone all the time. Like, honestly? I'm just kinda worried about you, Rouge," said Manic, scratching his head.

"Why would you be worried?" Rouge questioned, looking back at Manic.

"I just want you to be careful. All I'm gonna say is Shadow will end up hurting you if you're not," said Manic. "And I know you don't want that."

Rouge paused for a second, then shrugged. "Don't worry about me, ok? I'm tougher than I look," said Rouge, grinning.

Though deep down, she knew he was right...

* * *

It had been years since Shadow was last in Prison Island, just looking at the place began bringing back memories of when he was here. They were a bit hazy, but the familiarity of the island was enough for him. He spotted Maria standing outside the building up ahead, and began marching up towards her. As if she could sense him, Maria slowly turned around to see him walking up to her.

"I knew you'd come," said Maria, a small smile forming on her face. Something that was oddly strange for Shadow to see, considering her emotionless face that day she cut Sonic's hand off. It made her look almost like her normal self again.

Shadow swallowed hard. "I just needed to see you again. I need to know the truth," said Shadow.

Maria nodded. "Of course. I'll tell you the truth about everything...about who _you_ really are," said Maria.

"Who...I really am?" said Shadow, a puzzled expression on his face.

"You see, Black Doom recovered my body with the Doctor, a man named Dr. Julian Snively. They used the blood of the Black Arms to regenerate my cells, and soon enough I was alive again. I don't remember much of what I was like before this, but I know I'm different now. But I know how I was killed, by those...humans," Maria explained. "We were...friends before this, right?"

"Yes...best friends, even," said Shadow. "Though quite like yourself, my memories are not all clear. They're coming back to me, but it's all a blur."

"I wish to rekindle that friendship we had..." said Maria, gently. She looked up at Shadow, her facial expression soft. Memories of a younger Maria flashed before his mind, it was overwhelming, the woman standing in front of him looked so much like her former self. Full of innocence.

He couldn't get distracted by that now. "Maria, please. Those black aliens are evil, come with me and we'll fight them together!" Shadow pleaded.

"Evil? I think you'll find it's humans who are the evil ones, remember who sealed you away for 50 years on this island? The ones who killed me? They've wronged us in so many ways, Shadow," said Maria.

"That was so long ago, it's not like that anymore. Not all humans are evil. Black Doom and his army are monsters! They want to destroy us!" said Shadow, grabbing Maria by the arm.

Maria winced a little at his touch, but did nothing. She looked up at him. "But there's the other thing Shadow. About who you really are...we're more alike than you think."

Shadow frowned at her. "What are you talking about?"

"The Black Arms...their blood runs through your veins too," said Maria.

Shadow's eyes widened. "You're being ridiculous, I'm nothing like them!"

"It's true. You were created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik, my grandfather. But with your birth he needed some help, and that's where Black Doom came in. He allowed my grandfather to use his blood, that's how you were created," Maria explained, her expression deadpan.

Shadow froze, his heart thumping wildly against his chest. He clutched it tight.

"You mean...Black Doom...is my biological father?" said Shadow, struggling to keep his breathing steady.

"Correct. The humans won't accept that, the world will turn against you. But I'll be here for you, that's why we must stick together. Society will never accept us for what we are, so why should you continue to fight for them?"

"No...that's not true...ugh!" A sudden pain shot through Shadow's head, he clutched onto it, memories of Maria getting shot by GUN soldiers playing through his mind. There was another memory though, one of where he was trapped in that capsule on Prison Island, where GUN had kept him asleep for 50 years in an attempt to keep him hidden from the world. Then another, he could see Black Doom and Dr. Gerald standing before him as he opened his eyes for the first time, the scene was so clear in his mind.

Maria watched him carefully as he began to regain his composure. "Did you remember something?" she asked.

"It's...it's all true..." said Shadow.

"It is. Please, Shadow. Help us take these ungrateful humans down, help _me_ ," said Maria, holding her hand out to him.

Shadow hesitated, there was so much going through his head right now, he was still trying to process what Maria had told him and the memory he had seen in his mind. He needed to know more, he needed to speak directly to the very being that was apparently his father, and that was Black Doom.

"Fine. I'll come with you, Maria. But only because I wish to speak to this Black Doom myself," said Shadow.

Maria gave Shadow a small smile. "Of course. I'm certain Black Doom will be able to enlighten you further, let's go together," she said.

Shadow took a hold of her outstretched hand, their bodies suddenly engulfed in a white light that shone brightly around them and, soon enough, they had vanished.

 _Someone on earth had a thought..._

 _and that was to destroy every last one of these humans._

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the rest, but I'm really glad you guys are sticking around and enjoying it so far! It really means a lot to me! 3**

 **~ Kisa**


	7. Chapter 7: Retribution Against Humanity

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Maria had transported herself and Shadow to a rather eerie looking place, it was dark with reddish purple walls, there were gooey substances everywhere around them, and Shadow could see what looked like pods propped up against a wall. Was this their home?

"Where are we?" Shadow asked, following Maria down a long corridor.

"It is called the Black Comet, this is where Black Doom and his army resides," said Maria.

They stepped into a large room, wires hung from the ceiling and several more pods stood around them. Before them was the same sinister creature Shadow had encountered back in Westopolis; it was Black Doom himself.

"Shadow...I'm glad to see you've finally decided to join us..." his voice boomed deeply.

"I'm not here to join anything, I want some answers from you," said Shadow, clenching his fists.

Black Doom glanced over at Maria, then switched his gaze back to Shadow. "Very well, what is it you wish to know?"

"The Black Arms...is it true their blood runs through my veins? _Your_ blood?" Shadow asked, swallowing hard.

"Indeed, it is true. Maria probably told you about Dr. Gerald's arrangement with me, how I agreed to give my blood for your creation. So yes, you are one of us," said Black Doom.

Shadow shuddered, unable to get his head around any of this. It wasn't like Shadow was normal to begin with, what with being the Ultimate Lifeform created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik, surely this shouldn't come as a shock to him. But it didn't sit right with him all the same, why did it have to be the very creatures that were wreaking havoc on their planet? There was no way anyone would be able to accept that either, that running through his veins was the blood of the aliens who were now destroying everything in their path, was Maria right in saying the world would turn against him? At this point, it seemed very likely.

He was a traitor, and he didn't even realize it up until now.

Black Doom watched Shadow's pained expression, and spoke up. "Shadow, there's no need to look so disturbed. Where the humans will regard you as nothing more than a monster, your own kind will welcome you. We are family. No one else will accept you for who you are like we shall."

Shadow looked up at him, he didn't want to admit he was right, but the more Black Doom spoke about it, the more it began to make sense in his head. Yes, the humans always feared him as a creature only made to destroy the world. Even though he had proven to them that wasn't the case, there was always that small doubt in the back of his mind, did they really believe that? Perhaps they were waiting for him to slip up, look for some kind of excuse, and thus hunt him down and lock him away once again. Black Doom was right, there was no trusting anyone else, no one but his own family. No one but Maria.

There was something else though, that memory of Sarah getting killed by the Black Arms flashed through his mind.

"Your kind...my kind...they killed Sarah...they destroyed her planet," Shadow uttered.

Black Doom's laughed echoed throughout the room. " _Her_ planet? Is that what she told you?"

Shadow frowned, puzzled. "What do you mean? What are you saying?" he asked.

"I believe your feline friend was not all truthful with you, my son," said Black Doom. "She had a quest of her own. That, I don't know of. I'm sure you'll find out for yourself."

Shadow was stunned, Sarah...had _lied_ to him? But why? What was her reason for that? Why did she need him to help her in the first place?

"Then...is Sarah...alive?" Shadow pressed on.

Black Doom turned away from him. "I don't have time for these senseless questions, I have no knowledge of whether or not the feline survived, perhaps she did, but to where she is now I couldn't possibly tell you. Perhaps she's returned to her own home planet."

Shadow's mind began racing again, he felt almost light-headed, all these questions circling his brain and he couldn't understand any of it. It wasn't until Black Doom snapped him out of it once again as he spoke up.

"Shadow, you must help us...bring me the seven Chaos Emeralds, as promised by Professor Gerald...only then can we truly have full control over this world," said Black Doom.

Maria looked at Shadow expectedly, he was silent for a couple of seconds. He opened his mouth to speak when he was suddenly interrupted by a loud voice.

"Man! That was some nap! I feel _amazing_."

Shadow looked over to see a tall man walk into the room, he had messy shoulder length brown hair that sort of hung in his face, blue eyes, and pale skin. He wore a long black trench coat and big black boots, his complexion was quite sickly looking but he either didn't notice, or care about it. He seemed quite unfazed by it anyway, with a smug look plastered on his face as he flashed Shadow a grin.

"You're new, I don't believe we've met before? I'm Jason," he said, holding out his hand to Shadow.

Shadow only glared at him. Jason took away his hand once Shadow hadn't reacted, he was still smiling at him.

"Not a friendly fellow, are you?" he teased.

"I've seen you before. You're that thief who was involved in the murder of those policemen," said Shadow, clenching his fists.

"Hey, _I_ wasn't involved with that murder. I was merely an innocent bystander while the lovely Miss Maria here cut them up in bits," said Jason, winking at Maria. She stared blankly at him.

Shadow scowled. "What are you even doing here? You have no business with the Black Arms."

"It wasn't something I was overly enthusiastic about either, but Maria insisted she bring him here as he was wounded," said Black Doom, choosing to ignore Jason.

Shadow looked over at Maria, she didn't say anything, but he noticed her expression soften a little.

"Nice to know I'm so welcome," said Jason, sarcastically.

"Silence!" Black Doom snapped. "Now, Shadow, you will be working with Maria and Jason to find the Chaos Emeralds. You will split up and search the different areas around this planet. Dr. Snively has created these devices in which you will contact each other on, there is a built-in tracking device that shows both your location and the location of the Chaos Emeralds."

Just as Black Doom had explained, Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out three devices. He handed one over to Shadow, then the other to Maria. Shadow examined the device, it was small with a black and green screen showing different radars, he shoved it back inside his own pocket and turned to Black Doom.

"All right...I'll help you find the Chaos Emeralds," said Shadow.

"Excellent...now go! And don't disappoint me," Black Doom warned.

Without warning, Black Doom waved his arm and a bright light suddenly glowed around them. Before Shadow knew it, he had been teleported back to the Mystic Ruins.

Shadow looked around, Maria and Jason were nowhere to be seen. He assumed Black Doom had teleported them elsewhere. He looked up and seen the Blue Typhoon still parked next to Sonia's house, it was dark out and Shadow wondered if they were all still inside the house or if they were on the ship now. He began making his way towards the ship and spotted Manic lying down near the underside of it, oil-stained rags and tools lay around him as he was currently trying to fix something. A small music player lay on the ground next to him with "Mr. Brightside" blaring from it, Manic was too busy singing along to notice Shadow standing in front of him.

"It started out with a kiss, how'd it end up like this, it was only a kiss, it was only a kiss," Manic sang. He slid out from underneath the ship and turned to look up, only to jump in fright as he seen Shadow standing there.

"Whoa, shit! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" said Manic, clutching his chest. Shadow could only glare at him, not speaking a word. Manic swallowed hard, becoming very uneasy at how intently Shadow was staring at him, his heart was still thumping hard against his chest.

"Um...Rouge is inside the house if you're looking for her," said Manic, nervously.

Shadow said nothing, he turned his back to Manic and began making his way towards the house. Manic watched him leave, the uneasy feeling he got was still lingering in his stomach and he didn't like it one bit.

"Yep, that guy is creepy as fuck," Manic muttered to himself.

Shadow walked inside of the house and headed up the stairs towards the room Rouge was staying in. He walked into the room to find Rouge rooting through the closet, she was too busy looking for something to notice Shadow standing there.

"Manic, I can't find that wrench anywhere," said Rouge. She turned around, and jumped when she seen Shadow.

"Shadow!" she gasped. "God, you scared me! I had no idea you were back."

"Yeah, I just got back there a few minutes ago," said Shadow, crossing his arms.

"Oh..." Rouge paused. "So, how did your talk with Maria go?" she asked.

Shadow hesitated a bit before answering. "It went...well. I learned a lot," said Shadow, carefully.

"Oh? Like what?" said Rouge, putting some stuff she'd pulled out back inside the closet.

Shadow shrugged. "I don't really wanna talk about it, not today anyway. It's been a long day..." he said.

"Fair enough," said Rouge.

Shadow went over and sat on the edge of the bed, there was a moment of silence before he spoke up again.

"Rouge...would you say you know me well?" Shadow asked, glancing up at her.

Rouge looked over at him. "Of course, you're my best friend."

"So, how would you describe me as a person then?" he pressed on.

Rouge walked over and sat beside him. "Well, to start off with you're a loner. You're also incredibly arrogant and stubborn. But, you're determined and extremely loyal to those you care about. You'll do anything you can to protect the ones you love," Rouge explained. She looked over at Shadow and flashed him a cheeky grin. "You also like to keep reminding everyone that you're the Ultimate Life Form."

 _Ultimate Life Form? That may be true, but you have no idea what I truly am._

Shadow gave a small chuckle. "That's an interesting description."

"Why did you ask?" said Rouge, inching her body closer to Shadow's.

"I was just curious," said Shadow, shrugging.

"Well, then what about me? How would you describe me as a person?" she asked, eagerly.

Shadow stared at her. "Um, well, you're flirtatious. You're stubborn as well, but determined. Even if that determination comes from wanting to steal Jewels. You're also very strong...not just in strength. You care a lot about the people closest to you," said Shadow. He turned his head away from her. "You're also incredibly charming. I can see why you've so many people clamouring for your attention." He added, a bit of redness appearing on his cheeks as he avoided making eye contact with Rouge.

Rouge let out a hoot with laughter. "Oooh, Shadow! How very daring of you to say. Where are all these people you speak of clamouring for my attention?" Rouge teased, looking around as if she expected a horde of people to suddenly pop out.

"Well, Manic for starters..." said Shadow, still not looking at her.

Rouge raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? You're not jealous of _Manic_ now are you?"

Shadow glared at her. "Jealous of _him_? Don't be ridiculous."

Rouge laughed again, giving Shadow a playful slap on the shoulder. "Oh my dear, it's only a bit of fun with Manic is all. You know I'm a woman who enjoys dabbling in a bit of hedonism here and there."

Shadow didn't respond, he knew exactly what she was like. Rouge leaned in closer, almost making the black hedgehog jump at her sudden closeness as she brought her lips to his ear.

"But I have to admit, I _much_ prefer doing all of my pleasure-seeking with you. I dare say, you're my favorite," Rouge whispered. She stuck her tongue out and dragged it slowly along his ear, causing him to shiver at the sudden contact and warmth of her tongue.

"R-Rouge..." Shadow stuttered. Her hands were roaming his body, slipping them under his shirt and slowly running them along his muscles, feeling the tautness of his stomach. Shadow jumped at each gentle touch, her hands were smooth and felt amazing against the heat of his body, it made him want more and more.

Rouge took the tip of Shadow's ear in her mouth and began sucking slowly, placing her hand against his chest as she gently pushed him back down on the bed and straddled him, her hands still roaming every bit of his body she could easily gain access to. Shadow's pants were beginning to feel incredibly uncomfortable as his erection grew steadily, Rouge noticed this and smirked, continuing to suck and nibble at his ear in an attempt to tease the hedgehog further. She removed her hands from inside his shirt and placed one against his wrist, while the other trailed down over his clothed hard-on. Shadow bucked his hips at her sudden touch, a small moan escaping his lips.

"You insufferable tease..." Shadow hissed, trying to keep quiet.

"I know I am..." Rouge giggled, stroking his member through the material.

She pulled his zipper down, as slowly and teasingly as she could, and yanked his trousers off. She gently hooked her thumbs in the waistband of his boxers and eased them off, finally letting his hardened cock out. Shadow groaned a little, relieved that he was no longer constricted with how tight his pants had gotten. Rouge wrapped her delicate fingers around his throbbing member, flashing Shadow a cheeky grin as she began rubbing his length up and down.

"I don't know if I've told you before, but out of all the dicks I've seen, yours is the nicest," said Rouge, winking.

Shadow blushed a little, frowning. "Don't be so lewd."

Oh, how the tables have turned. She was curious as to why Shadow was letting her be in charge this time, but Rouge wasn't complaining. She loved every minute of it.

Rouge stuck out her pointy little tongue and dragged it up along his length, stopping at the tip. She wrapped her plump lips just around the tip of his cock and began sucking slowly, teasing Shadow further. He let out a small moan, clenching his fists to stop himself grabbing the back of Rouge's head and shoving his dick down her throat. Rouge smiled, sucking harder and swirling her tongue around the tip, using her free hand to massage his balls. It was driving him crazy. She pulled her mouth away from his dick with an audible pop, she licked her lips and continued to stroke his length.

"God, Rouge..." Shadow groaned, biting his lip.

"Yes, Shadow?" Rouge asked, with fake innocence in her voice.

With the look he was giving her, Rouge didn't want to tease him any longer. She giggled and gave his cock one last long lick before taking it all in her mouth, causing Shadow to gasp. Her breath was hot against his skin and it felt fantastic. She began bobbing her head, sucking hard, her fangs grazing slightly against his member. Shadow couldn't take it anymore, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pushed himself further into her mouth. Rouge was a little surprised, but kept her rhythm as she continued sucking his cock as hard as she could. He could feel a burning sensation in his lower stomach, and knew he was getting close. Rouge could tell too, with how hard he was tugging her hair now. She pulled his dick out of her mouth and began stroking him quickly, his member now lubricated with her saliva.

Shadow couldn't hold it back any longer. His cock twitched once, twice, three times, sending streams of cum shooting out and landing on the bed and on Rouge's face. Rouge hadn't expected such a huge load, his cum streaming down her face and onto her chest.

"Oh my, what a load," Rouge smirked, wiping a finger across the seed on her face and licking it clean.

Shadow panted, trying to recover from his orgasm, looking around at the mess he had made. "It sure was..." he said, regaining his breath.

Rouge smiled and reached up to grab his face, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. She loved the feeling of his soft lips on hers, and the way he ran his fingers through her hair. Rouge pulled away from Shadow, breathing heavily and lay her head on his chest.

"I love you," she murmured breathlessly. She froze, upon realizing what she had just said.

Shadow also tensed up, not quite sure if he had heard Rouge correctly. He let out a small, nervous laugh.

"...What did you just say?" he asked.

"I said I love your lips!" said Rouge quickly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Shadow nodded. "All right." he said.

There was a minute of awkward silence before Rouge suddenly pulled away from Shadow, getting up from the bed.

"Well, I'm gonna go help Manic with the ship repairs. This was fun though, let's do it again sometime," said Rouge, flashing Shadow a smile. She didn't know if she was fooling Shadow or herself, but Rouge had to pretend everything was normal either way. That she didn't just mistakenly blurt out how she really felt about him.

She waggled her fingers at Shadow and left the room, leaving Shadow to wonder what just happened back there. He sighed, flopping back down on the bed and running his fingers through his quills.

 _Did I hear Rouge correctly back there? Did she just say she loved me?_

"She seems quite close to you."

Shadow's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a voice, he turned his head quickly towards window and seen Maria sitting there, staring at him intently. Shadow jumped slightly, surprised by her appearance.

"M-Maria, what are you doing here?" Shadow asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

"A Chaos Emerald reading showed up on my radar, I needed to come see you about it," said Maria. She paused. "But I noticed you were busy with other things."

Shadow felt the heat rush to his cheeks, _'Oh christ, please tell me she didn't see Rouge sucking me off.'_

"Busy with what exactly?" Shadow asked. For his own peace of mind, he had to know.

Maria looked a little puzzled, she remained silent for a minute as she tried to find the words.

"To be honest, I don't really know exactly what you two were doing. I haven't really been graced with much knowledge of human or mobian interaction," said Maria, looking a little embarrassed. Which was probably the most emotion Shadow has seen Maria express since her ressurection.

"So you're not aware of...any physical interaction?" said Shadow.

' _Am I seriously gonna have "the talk" with Maria now of all times?'_

"Emotions aren't something I can comprehend, I know I must have felt them back when I was alive...and fully human. But I don't remember what it was like," said Maria, she walked over to Shadow and sat down on the bed next to him. "Whatever it was that woman was doing to you, it looked quite...inappropriate."

"Well, I mean, one would say that. But what happened was something that's meant to be private. I mean, usually anyway," said Shadow, struggling to keep his composure. But god, was this awkward.

"Is this what that bat girl said, that thing she called 'love'?" said Maria, looking up at Shadow.

He swallowed hard. "Um, no. It's not that. It's kind of complicated to explain. Sometimes people, even friends, can have a physical attraction to each other without there being any feelings involved," Shadow explained.

A small smirk formed on Maria's face. "I beg to differ in this situation. From what it looked like, that bat girl obviously harbours strong feelings for you."

Shadow's heart began beating fast, he didn't want to believe it. "You're looking too much into it," said Shadow.

"Shadow...don't let emotions cloud your judgement. Succumbing to those will only get you killed, and I know you're smarter than that," said Maria, she suddenly stood up from the bed and turned to Shadow.

"The Chaos Emerald has been located inside the GUN Fortress, we leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Without another word, Maria climbed out the window and disappeared into the night, Shadow could only think about what she had said about keeping his emotions at bay. He knew she was right, that they would only get in his way, but as much as he didn't want to admit it - his complicated feelings for Rouge was something that lingered on his mind a lot lately. With Rouge's little outburst, it only made that thought more apparent, and he almost resented her for that. But there was no point in dwelling on it further, if Rouge knew what he truly was she'd despise him for sure. He was a monster, and he was the enemy.

 _This is who I am._

* * *

It was a dull morning in the Mystic Ruins, Maria said she'd be waiting by the cave with Jason, Shadow double checked to see if he had everything. Phone, tracking device, AK-47, Chaos Emerald, crushed packet of cigarettes; that was all he needed. He didn't want to risk getting caught and pulled out the Chaos Emerald from inside his jacket, holding it out in front of him.

"Chaos Control now!" said Shadow, a white light shone brightly around him and he was immediately transported to the outside of the cave. Maria and Jason were already there, waiting.

"Mornin' sunshine," said Jason, grinning.

Shadow ignored him and turned to Maria. "Shall we get going?" he said, holding out the Chaos Emerald in his hand.

Jason raised his eyebrows. "You have a Chaos Emerald already? Don't suppose you were gonna plan on keeping that all to yourself now."

Shadow shot Jason a dirty look. "Of course not, but as of now I need it for quick transport," said Shadow.

Jason opened his mouth to respond, but Maria quickly spoke up.

"Let's not waste any more time here," said Maria.

"Of course, let's get moving. Chaos Control!" said Shadow, they were immediately consumed by a white light and transported to the GUN Fortress.

The Fortress looked much larger than their Headquarters back in Westopolis, Shadow hadn't stepped foot in this place before, even when he was an agent for GUN. He thought about Commander Towers back on that day the Black Arms invaded Westopolis, and wondered if he had gotten out of there alive. If he did, would he have escaped to this fortress here?

Maria pulled out her tracking device and looked at the beeping icon on the screen.

"The Emerald is located somewhere deep in the fortress, estimated about a mile from here. It seems to be underground," said Maria.

"We'd better get moving, then," said Shadow, walking onwards.

They began making their way further into the fortress, but didn't get too far before the alarms began sounding off throughout the building. Shadow cursed under his breath, he figured something like this would happen.

Jason sighed. "So, new plan. Kill anything that gets in our way," he said, pulling out a large glowing, purple sword.

"For once, I agree," said Shadow, clutching his AK-47.

They continued down along the corridor, blasting open the doors that shut in front of them, GUN robots had been summoned immediately and were trying to block them off. They carried large machine guns and began shooting at the three, Shadow dodged out of the way and fired back at one, successfully destroying it. Maria sliced through the other with ease, not one bit disturbed by the scenario, while Jason smashed open another.

The cycle repeated until they got further into the fortress, GUN soldiers were seen emerging from different rooms and firing out at them, Shadow hesitated slightly - these were soldiers he worked alongside for years. Though he knew, in his mind, he was the enemy; so he might as well play the part. Shadow raised his gun and fired at a soldier, shooting him in the head and killing him instantly. The scene was an immediate bloodbath with Maria and Jason ruthlessly slicing their way through any soldiers that appeared in sight, Shadow tried his best to ignore it - focusing on the only goal ahead, and that was the Chaos Emerald.

Each corridor they passed through was left a vision of horror as soldiers lay disembodied around them, blood coating the floor and walls, parts of the soldiers tossed about the place. They finally arrived in the underground cavern deep within the fortress, walking into a large room with many different types of equipment and technology. The Chaos Emerald sat behind a large capsule in the middle of the room, its' green light shining brightly before them.

"Well this was easy! Now let's grab this baby and get outta here!" Jason announced, running up to the capsule. He reached over to break the glass, but was immediately stopped by the sound of gunfire, and a bullet cutting through the tip of his finger.

"Shit!" Jason cried out, snatching his hand back and holding his throbbing finger.

Shadow whipped around to where the gun was fired, and seen none other than Commander Towers himself walking up towards them. He was frowning, staring intently at Shadow.

"Of all people, I didn't expect to see _you_ here. Was killing my men and destroying our facility all part of your big promise to make things right?" Towers spat, clutching his gun tightly.

His eyes scanned over Jason, before laying his gaze upon Maria. His expression immediately changed to that of confusion, and shock.

"...Maria? Is...is that you?" he asked, his voice shaking.

Maria remained silent, staring blankly at the 'stranger' before her.

Towers turned back to Shadow. "What the hell is going on here?!"

"Commander, I know I promised you I'd make things right and I'm sorry it's come to this. But I know who I really am now, and I know you'd never accept it," said Shadow.

"What in God's name are you babbling about?! Is this all some kind of sick joke?!" yelled Towers, waving his gun about.

"I'm one of those black creatures...I have the Black Arms' blood running through my veins," Shadow explained. "...And so does Maria."

Commander Towers eyes swivelled from Shadow to Maria, then back to Shadow, he was trying hard to remain calm but his whole body began shaking.

"This is madness...you're fucking insane! If you say you're one of those monsters, then I have no choice but to kill you too! You traitor!" Towers exclaimed, raising his gun up to Shadow, aiming it towards his head.

There was sudden movement through the air, before Towers could pull the trigger, a sudden bladed tentacle zipped towards Towers and immediately sliced through his chest. Shadow's eyes widened at the scene before him, Towers coughed and choked, blood pouring out of his mouth and the open wound in his chest. He fell to the ground, spluttering and writhing in agony, a pool of blood forming around his body.

"M-Maria-" Towers choked, coughing up more blood.

Shadow turned to Maria, she was looking back at him.

"I told you we'd never let anything bad happen to you," said Maria. That same blank expression was plastered on her face, and Shadow felt slightly unnerved by it.

Jason smashed the capsule and grabbed the Chaos Emerald from inside it. "C'mon, let's get out of here!" he called out.

"All right," said Shadow, he turned his gaze back to Towers, whom was still twitching in pain as he struggled to stay awake.

"I'm sorry it had to be like this...it was a pleasure working with you, Commander."

A light shone brightly around the three, engulfing them in its brilliance, and immediately they had vanished from the Fortress.

' _This is who I am...'_

* * *

 **Author's Note: Ahhhh I'm so sorry this took so long to upload! I kept adding bits to it because I didn't want the chapter to be super short this time. I've also decided to not have Commader Towers see Shadow being created with Black Doom like he did in the game, because it wouldn't make sense with former plots in the story - but that he still knows Maria. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

~ Kisa


	8. Chapter 8: Truth, Thy Name is Vengeance

**Chapter 8**

* * *

"Manic, I may have done something incredibly stupid," said Rouge, passing Manic a cloth for his oil-stained hands.

Manic crawled out from underneath the ship and grabbed the cloth from her, wiping the oil off his hands. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Somehow I feel like I'm not gonna like this, but I'm listening," said Manic.

Rouge pursed her lips together, avoiding eye contact. "Well, I maaaaay or may not have accidentally told Shadow...that I loved him?"

Manic stared blankly at Rouge. "Oh no."

"Oh yes."

Manic ran his fingers through his spiked quills, unsure of what to say. He looked almost embarrassed _for_ her. "What did he say to that?" he asked, eventually.

"I don't know if he heard me, God I'll just kid myself he didn't. He just asked what I said, and I made up some dumb cover-up, I don't know if he bought it," said Rouge, flailing her arms about the place.

"Oh God, Rouge, what have you done?" said Manic, burying his face in his hands.

Before Rouge could respond, her phone began vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID: 'G.U.N' flashed up on the screen.

Rouge answered it. "Hello?"

"Agent Rouge, we have a problem," came the voice of a young man.

"What's happened?" Rouge asked.

"There's been an attack down at the Fortress, Commander Abraham is in bad shape and we need you right away," he said.

Rouge's heart thumped, her thoughts immediately going to that of the Black Arms. Manic watched her closely as Rouge hung up, she turned to Manic with an anxious expression plastered on her face.

"We have to head to the GUN Fortress," she said, her voice shaking.

"Why? What happened?" Manic asked, frowning.

"Commander Abraham was attacked, we need to go check it out," said Rouge, shoving her phone back in her pocket.

"Do you think it was those Black Aliens?" said Manic.

"I have my suspicions."

They ran over to the van and spotted Sonia and Tails chilling out beside it, they looked up at Manic and Rouge approaching them.

"Hey guys, what's the hurry?" Sonia asked.

"We don't really have much time to explain, but we need to head down to the GUN Fortress, Commander Abraham has been hurt," said Rouge.

"We think it might have been those Black Aliens," said Manic, pulling open the door of the van. "We need you guys to stay here and keep an eye on everyone. Anything happens just give us a call," he added, hopping into the van.

"Oh God, be careful you two! We'll keep an eye on things here, let us know if anything goes wrong," said Tails, anxiously.

"Will do. We'll see you guys soon!" said Rouge, she climbed into the van and shut the door behind her.

Manic started up the engine and gave Tails and Sonia one last wave before quickly driving off, making their way towards the main road out of the Mystic Ruins. It was times like this Rouge wished Shadow was here to Chaos Control them to the fortress so they could be there already, she felt a familair sickness in the pit of her stomach, a squeezing feeling that something was very wrong. They couldn't get to the fortress soon enough. She needed to know if everyone was ok. The ride was gonna be a long and almost unbearable one.

They finally arrived at the Gun Fortress after what felt like ages, Rouge quickly jumped out of the van and ran up towards the entrance.

"Rouge! Slow down!" Manic called after her, getting out of the van and trying to keep up with Rouge.

"I need to see if the Commander is ok!" said Rouge, she burst through the doors and suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

The scene before her was like something out of a nightmare, there was blood and severed body parts everywhere. Rouge almost forgot how to breathe, she was stunned at the sight before her - who could have done this?

"Oh my God..." Rouge whispered, her voice shaking.

Manic caught up to Rouge and also stopped, his breath getting caught in his throat.

"Holy shit...those Black Aliens did this?" said Manic, looking around at the mess before him.

"My guess is as good as yours," said Rouge, slowly stepping forward. The sound of blood and guts squelching beneath her heels made her shudder, Manic followed cautiously.

Something stirred in the distance and both Manic and Rouge stopped suddenly, they looked over and noticed parasitic looking creatures writhing around on the ground, groaning and gurgling. Rouge looked around the room, there were more of them crawling about, some feeding off of the dead bodies.

"What the fuck are they? Black aliens too?" Manic asked, grimacing.

"Probably, but they're sure gross as hell. We'd better get rid of them," said Rouge, pulling out a gun from her pocket. She aimed it at the parasite and shot, it shrieked and writhed in pain before lying dead on the ground.

Manic clutched his bat tightly and brought it down on another parasite's head, smashing it completely. They repeated this cycle until all the creatures were another bloody mess among the dead GUN soldiers.

"Do you think there'll be more of these things?" Rouge asked, wiping some blood off her cheek.

"With the way these Black Aliens are spreading, I wouldn't doubt it for a second," said Manic, swinging his bat over his shoulder.

"Quick, let's go find the Commander!" said Rouge, running up ahead.

There were more parasites along the way, much to their dismay. It looked like they were multiplying fast, and Rouge couldn't help but worry about the Commander's safety. Did these parasites get to them while they were on their way to the Gun Fortress? Rouge didn't want to think of that possibility. They attacked and killed as many parasites as they could see, until they reached the office on the top floor.

Rouge yanked open the door to find a severely wounded Commander and a couple of GUN soldiers, there was a doctor amongst them as well - treating the Commander's wounds.

"What happened here?" Rouge gasped, rushing to the Commander's side.

Towers gritted his teeth and flinched as the doctor dabbed at his wound. "W-we were attacked...by Shadow and Maria... There was this other guy too - it was awful...Th-they killed my men...and s-stole the Chaos Emerald," he choked, weakly.

"What the fuck? _Shadow_ helped do this?" Rouge asked, bemused. Her heart was thumping wildly, there's no way Shadow would do this. Not after all he's done for GUN and Commander Towers, not after he promised he'd make things better.

Manic shook his head, crossing his arms. "I knew that guy was trouble," he spat.

Rouge frowned at Manic. "You don't know him like I do! Shadow would never do something like this!" she snapped, clenching her fists.

"Rouge, maybe S-Shadow wasn't the person w-we thought he was...because he revealed to me t-to be one of those B-Black Creatures..." said Towers, coughing.

Rouge's eyes grew wide, she shook her head slowly. "W-what? You mean... He's like those _things_?"

"Th-that's what he told me, and I think Maria is...also one of those Black Aliens," said Towers.

"I can't believe it...after all this time, we didn't even realize-"

"No one knew, Rouge. Not even Shadow h-himself."

Rouge bit her lip, her heart pounding wildly and a million questions running through her mind at top speed. It was difficult to take any of it in.

"So, where are they now?" Manic asked.

"T-They were looking for the rest of the C-Chaos Emeralds...I think S-Shadow's gone back to the Mystic Ruins..." Towers explained.

"Shit...the Master Emerald is on board the Blue Typhoon - we need to go warn the others!" said Rouge, worriedly.

"You need to h-hurry. We don't have much t-time with how quickly these aliens are s-spreading," said Towers. He groaned and clutched his side. "I'm n-not much use to you now, b-but I still have GUN soldiers out there d-doing the best they can to stop these creatures."

Rouge nodded and turned to the military doctor tending to the Commander's wounds. "You need to find a safe place to lay low and look after the Commander, it's not safe here."

He nodded in response. Rouge looked over at Towers once again.

"I promise we'll do everything we can to stop Shadow and these Black Creatures," said Rouge.

"I know you all will, now g-go!"

Both Manic and Rouge rushed out of the GUN Fortress, they jumped back inside the van and quickly began making their way back towards the Mystic Ruins. Rouge still felt a little disorientated with all this new found information she'd learned about someone she'd considered her best friend for years, especially when she'd been sleeping with said best friend too. Did this mean she'd become infected and turn into one of these things too?

 _No, it's crazy to think that. This isn't some zombie bullshit._

Even Manic was giving her odd glances every now and then, but Rouge was too lost in her own thoughts to take much notice.

* * *

Soon enough they were finally back at the Mystic Ruins, they could see the Blue Typhoon in the distance and quickly hopped out of the van.

"Do you think Shadow's up in the Blue Typhoon with everyone else?" Manic asked, running alongside Rouge.

"I dunno, but I hope everyone is ok! God, how could I have been so stupid as to let Shadow meet up with Maria that day?" said Rouge, her ears drooping slightly.

"Hey, don't go beating yourself up over this. It's not your fault, I don't think there's anything you could have said that would've stopped him," said Manic, grabbing a hold of Rouge's hand and giving it a slight squeeze.

Rouge gave Manic a weak smile, she knew he was right; but she couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty for this. They reached the Blue Typhoon and ran up inside the ship, they didn't see any sign of anyone so far. Rouge's heart began thumping wildly as they ran into each room.

"Where the fuck are they?" said Manic, a hint of panic in his voice.

"What if Shadow and Maria got here before us?" said Rouge, worriedly.

"That son of a-"

They burst through the door of the meeting room and stopped dead in their tracks, everyone was sat around the table and the sound of Manic and Rouge rushing in had stunned them into silence. Both Rouge and Manic glanced at each other, breathing heavily. Their eyes darted around the room at everyone before spotting Shadow leaning against the wall at the very end, he was staring intently back at them.

Tails cleared his throat, snapping Rouge and Manic back to reality.

"Rouge, Manic, I'm glad you guys made it back in time. We were just discussing our next plan of action," said Tails, carefully; still confused by Manic and Rouge's strange behaviour.

Manic coughed, struggling to keep cool. "Right, yes, that is just peachy. We thought we were running late which is why..." Manic gestured to Rouge.

"Which is why we were in such a rush, we thought maybe you guys had left without us," said Rouge hurriedly, glancing nervously at Shadow.

"Why would we do that?" Sonic asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well...I dunno," said Manic, his voice wavering.

"So what happened at the Gun Fortress? Is the Commander ok?" Tails asked.

Manic and Rouge looked at one another again, swallowing hard.

"He's...he's badly wounded, but I think he's gonna be ok. He has people looking after him," said Rouge, cautiously. Shadow was still staring at her, almost like he was trying to read her thoughts.

"Did you find out if it was the Black Aliens?" Sonia pressed on.

Manic scratched his quills, not really wanting to respond. "Um...yeah, it was the Black Aliens. Seems they're spreading quickly."

Knuckles slammed his fist on the table. "Those god damn creatures...we need to destroy them now!" he spat.

"Which brings us back to our next plan of action: Now that Rouge and Manic are here, we can continue. We only have a few of the Chaos Emeralds, I have suspicions that these creatures may try and take them to use its power, and we can't let them do that. We need to track down the rest and fight back, if they're spreading as quickly as Manic and Rouge say they are; then we need to find their hub. Find where these creatures are spawning from and destroy it," Tails explained.

"Finding Chaos Emeralds and kicking ass? Sounds like the usual scenario for us," said Sonic, leaning back against his chair.

"Let's not get cocky about this, Sonic. We still don't know much about these Black Aliens, we need to be on our guard at all times," said Tails.

"Tails is right, for all we know they could be one step ahead of us," said Belina.

Rouge bit her lip, glancing up at Manic. He looked back at her, his face plastered with worry. They needed to do something, quick.

Manic cleared his throat loudly. "Sounds great guys, but before we start making any more plans, I - err - need to head back to the house and sort some stuff out - and, uh, I need Rouge to help me," Manic babbled, gesturing to Rouge.

"Y-yeah, it shouldn't take too long! Don't go anywhere without us! We'll be right back!" said Rouge, hurriedly.

Manic waved at them before rushing out of the room with Rouge, they breathed out as soon as the door was closed.

"That was probably the lamest excuse ever, but at least we're alone," said Manic.

"You're telling me, now we gotta go search Shadow's room for anything we can find that'll help us against these Black creatures!" said Rouge.

"If they're after the Chaos Emeralds...Shadow always has one on him doesn't he? Do you think he'd keep it in his room?" Manic asked.

"Possibly, it's worth checking. We can't let them get the Chaos Emeralds," said Rouge.

They rushed out of the Blue Typhoon and made their way back to the house, thankfully the door wasn't locked so they were able to run inside with ease. They reached Shadow's room and yanked the door open, the room looked relatively empty - but Rouge was still determined to find out if there was anything hidden away somewhere that could be of use to them. She searched the drawers while Manic rummaged through the closet, pulling out old clothes from years ago that Sonia had dumped inside and forgotten about. After a few minutes of searching, Rouge sighed in exasperation.

"There's nothing here. He's taken them with him," said Rouge, biting her nail.

"If I had something I didn't want people finding, I'd probably keep it with me at all times too," said Manic, scratching his head.

"You're probably right, I don't know how we're gonna get close enough to search him for any of that, though," said Rouge.

Manic stared at her, a slight grin on his face. Rouge blinked.

"I don't like what your smile is insinuating," she said, crossing her arms.

"I'm not insinuating anything...just maybe suggesting that there is a certain someone who _could_ get close enough to him..." said Manic, giving Rouge a sly smile.

"And what you're basically saying is this certain someone is me," said Rouge, raising her eyebrow.

"Exactly," said Manic, clicking his fingers.

"I suppose you're right..." said Rouge. She suddenly turned her back to Manic, nervously chewing her nail once again. "It's just...I still can't get my head around all this. I just can't believe Shadow is one of them...I mean, I thought I knew him so well. But...fuck, I was so wrong."

Rouge's breath got caught in her throat, and she could feel hot tears welling up in her eyes. She pursed her lips together, trying hard to pull herself together. Rouge wasn't one for shedding tears that easily, she made sure of that. But it was different this time, the overwhelming sensation that burned in her chest, the sudden realization that the man she was in love with all this time was nothing more than the enemy. Someone she thought was so much more than just a weapon to destroy mankind. The realization that she had been kidding herself all along to think that they could ever be together. Especially now that he really, truly, was a monster. She had been so, so wrong.

Maybe that's why she couldn't stop the tears falling down her face, she clutched her chest as she let out quiet sobs, still trying her hardest to regain her composure.

Manic's ears flattened against his head, looking immediately worried. "Rouge? Hey, hey, c'mere," said Manic, quickly wrapping his arms around Rouge and bringing her in for a gentle embrace.

She sobbed against his chest as he stroked her hair. "Shhhh, it's ok Rouge, let it all out," said Manic, gently.

Rouge didn't respond, still hiding her tear stained face in Manic's chest as she continued to let out all her pent up feelings. Her chest ached, and her eyes were sore, but eventually she regained control of herself. She impatiently wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

"Fuck...I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be such a mess like that," said Rouge, sniffing.

Manic reached into his pocket and pulled out a tissue, he handed it to Rouge. "Don't worry about it, it's best to let it all out. I'm sorry this has all happened."

Rouge shrugged, forcing a smile on her face. "Maybe I just need to learn not to fall in love with the wrong people."

Before Manic could respond, the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut caused them to jump. They backed away suddenly, looking at the door in front of them and then back at each other.

"Who do you think that could be?" Manic whispered.

"I've no idea," said Rouge, her voice hushed.

"I'll go check it out, you wait here," said Manic, heading to the door.

"Be careful!" said Rouge.

Manic flashed her a smile before disappearing out the door, Rouge couldn't help but feel worried. She shifted from one foot to the other, biting her thumb, she couldn't hear Manic anymore. A few minutes had gone by, and Rouge was becoming more and more anxious. She walked over to the window and peered out, wondering if Manic had stepped outside, but she didn't see any sign of him.

The sound of the door opening slowly caught Rouge's attention, and she felt immediate relief wash over her.

"Oh thank God, Manic. I was afraid you were-" Rouge turned around and stopped mid sentence, realizing that it wasn't Manic that had walked into the room. Instead, it was Shadow. Rouge's heart began thumping fast.

"Sh-Shadow. Sorry, I thought you might have been Manic. We heard someone come in so he went to take a look..." said Rouge, forcing a smile on her face and trying to hide her anxiety.

Shadow shrugged. "I didn't see him, maybe I missed him on the way up," he said, studying Rouge's face. "You've been crying."

Rouge's hand shot up to her cheek. "Oh it was nothing, hormones and all that!" said Rouge quickly. She could almost feel the tension in the air.

Shadow nodded, glancing around the room. "So...did whatever Manic want you to help him with have to be in my room of all places?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms.

"No, no, don't be silly! I'm just in here because...I was waiting for you!" said Rouge, quickly.

Shadow raised an eyebrow at her. "And why would you be doing that?"

Rouge bit her lip, taking a couple of steps closer to Shadow. "Well...I don't think I need much of a reason to spend some...quality time with my _close_ friend," said Rouge, she was dangerously close to him now, her chest almost pressed up against him as she stared seductively up at his face.

Shadow gave her a sly smile. "Is that so?" he said, uncrossing his arms and placing his hands on her hips, pulling her in close.

"Of course," said Rouge, smiling sweetly, resting her hands on his chest. If she could just get him to let his guard down, then maybe she could slip the Chaos Emerald out from his jacket. Or perhaps tire him out so she could have a proper search through his clothes to see what else he had hidden on him.

Shadow gently placed a finger under her chin and lifted her head towards him, their lips almost touching. He smiled. "Rouge... Do you really think I'm gonna fall for your bullshit?" he said, his voice low.

"Hm?" said Rouge with feigned ignorance, but she knew it was pointless trying to keep up the act with the way Shadow was looking at her. Her heart began thumping wildly.

Shadow let out a chuckle. "Don't play dumb, Rouge. I know Towers told you everything, you _know_ what I am."

Rouge reacted quickly, jamming her knee up against Shadow's crotch and causing him to let go of her. It wasn't enough to keep him out of it for long, his reaction was just as quick as Rouge tried to make an escape. Shadow reached out and grabbed hold of Rouge's leg, flinging her across the room, her back painfully making impact with the drawers. She snatched an old alarm clock that sat on top of the drawers and threw it at Shadow, he batted it away before it hit his head. Rouge scrambled to her feet and lunged towards Shadow, giving him a swift kick in the chest and causing him to crash against the door.

"Why are you doing this, Shadow?!" Rouge cried out, breathing heavily.

Shadow glared at her. "I'm one of the Black Arms, do you really think humanity could accept that? It's kill or be killed, and I'm not letting them take Maria away from me ever again!" Shadow spat.

Before Rouge could respond or react in any way, Shadow quickly teleported behind her and landed a powerful hit across her head, knocking her to the ground in an instant. Rouge felt her vision going hazy, and she struggled hard to stay awake. She looked up at Shadow one last time before everything went black.

 _Shadow...please...why are you doing this...?_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Oh my God I'm so sorry for the late update! This chapter took forever to write up because I was having trouble with motivation and trying to figure out how I wanted this chapter to turn out! It's not that long, I do apologize, but I have a clearer head on how I want Chapter 9 to play out which is why I didn't want to drag this one out too long.**

 **I'm so sorry about the wait and to all the people that were asking me to update! I hope you've all still stuck around this long, and enjoy!**

 **~ Kisa**


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